Ocarina of Time: A Princess's Destiny
by Mudora hyrule's scribe
Summary: Ch23 up!Zelda returns to her base of operations to discover her new objective.But now she must save the life of the Hero himself!Can she succeed, or is it out of her hands? ...Zelda's side of OoT & parallel to my Hero's Path story
1. A Wicked Man from the Desert

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Zelda. 

If I invented Zelda, the series would

Probably never get off the ground

I'm lazy that way

The Legend of Zelda 

**A Princess's Destiny**

Zelda's side of Ocarina of Time 

**Chapter One: **A Wicked Man from the Desert

_"Before Life Began, Before the World had Form,_

_Three Goddesses Descended Upon the Chaos that was Hyrule._

_Din, the Goddess of Power;_

_Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom;_

_Farore, the Goddess of Courage._

_And where once was chaos, they created a beautiful land: Hyrule._

_These three goddesses then returned to the heavens,_

_Leaving behind the sacred, golden Triforce._

_Where the Triforce stood became the Sacred Realm..."_

The Great Deku Tree

_"The Triforce contained the power of the gods,_

_The power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands._

_If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish,_

_It will lead to a golden age of prosperity._

_If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted,_

_The world will be consumed by evil._

_That is what has been told..._

_So the ancient sages built the Temple of Time,_

_To protect the Triforce from evil ones._

_The Temple of Time is the entrance to the Sacred Realm from Hyrule..."_

Princess Zelda

A dark cloud enveloped Hyrule, swirling around above the green field. Once it was bright, but the cloud cast a deep shadow. Zelda watched from the tallest tower of Hyrule Castle. The beautiful castle shifted toward Hyrule Field, into the storm. Raindrops slowly fell from the swirling clouds, but quickly became a swift downpour. Each drop stung as it hit. As she peered through the rain, Zelda could see that the storm was blowing in from Gerudo Valley, and thicker, more violent storms were on the way. Lightning bolts began striking, and one struck the castle. The tower Zelda watched from began collapsing. She shrieked in terror, and a young, male Sheikah jumped from the plains. It was Sheik, the man who kept appearing in Zelda's dreams, and he came bounding from stone to falling stone. He grabbed the princess from her spot on the falling tower, and returned to a safe place on the ground. He threw a smoke bomb on the ground, and Zelda wished she could be as strong and courageous as he was.

Suddenly, her attention was called to the Kokiri Forest, where a bright, green light shattered the clouds, and brought golden daylight onto the field, shining from the Triforce. As the sky brightened, the green light faded, and Zelda saw it came from a green stone in the hands of a small, green clad boy with a fairy...

"Princess, wake up!" Princess Zelda awoke in her comfortable bed. It had all been a dream, or rather, a vision. Sunlight flooded into her private bedchamber through the windows facing east. The awakening voice was that of her nursemaid and bodyguard, Impa. Impa was a Sheikah, a loyal protector of the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Sheikah had defended the king's family for centuries, but only one did now; all the rest were either dead or in hiding outside of Hyrule. Impa was the most loyal servant in Hyrule Castle, defending Zelda from her day of birth, when Impa was only twelve. Now, eleven years later, Impa still stood next to Zelda everywhere the princess went. Impa had a dark complexion and white hair, both of which she was born with. She was very muscular from years of training under the Sheikah arts. She wore her traditional Sheikah outfit, a black and navy, skin-tight suit that cut off above the knees and elbows, giving her a good range of motion. Atop this, she wore a steel breastplate, and she wore tall boots and long gloves.

"Princess, the sun has risen far," she said with her commanding voice. "Why did you sleep so long?"

Zelda sat up and stretched. "A vision, Impa," was her reply.

"Another?"

"No, the same one. The same dream I've seen so many times now, only different."

"Different, Zelda?"

"Yes. There was a boy."

"The Sheikah boy again?"

"No. Another boy. From the forest. He had a guardian fairy and a green, shining stone."

"A Kokiri," Impa noted.

"I suppose he was. But he stopped the storm of my vision. How could a small Kokiri stop the great evil, personified by the storm?"

"That green stone was the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, Princess," Impa informed.

"I am aware of that, Impa."

"Yes, but the stone symbolizes courage and the blessing of the Great Deku Tree."

"That's true." Zelda stood up and walked to her mirror. Impa began making the bed, and Zelda brushed her hair. "So, do you think that means he is no mere Kokiri?" Meanwhile, she thought, 'What chance does a Kokiri stand?' She didn't know much of her adversary, the storm that was coming upon Hyrule. All she knew were the evils it brought about. Whatever it personified was so dark and powerful, the children who fought in the Hundred Years War were being summoned from their graves on Hyrule Field. No child drafted into that first battle of the war lived. Now, they rose every night, scaring all Hylians, and even the dogs of the field, into shutting themselves in their towns all night. Someone, or something, strong enough to evoke the Curse of the Stalchildren every night… what could a child do against something like that?

This was Zelda's message to the people? The message of relief from the goddesses? Impa was the only one who believed her already. Who would believe that a child would save Hyrule from this curse?

"Perhaps the boy is a seasoned warrior guardian of the Kokiri," Impa said.

"A seasoned warrior guardian!" Zelda returned. "The Kokiri aren't warriors, Impa! Their only guardian is the Great Deku Tree. They sit in their magically guarded forest, sheltered from the evils of the world, performing plays and tending their gardens. The Great Deku Tree cares for children. If he'd wanted warriors, he would've grown warriors! So why would the goddesses choose the lowliest of Hyruleans to save this land, Impa?"

"Perhaps it is that they want to teach a message of humility," Impa suggested. "You don't know why the goddesses do anything they do, Zelda. Neither do I."

"But I do know that if I could only convince my father of my visions, he would send out the armies of Hyrule at the first sign of danger!"

"But your father won't believe you, Princess. No matter how much you try, he still doesn't listen. Now it is time to give up on that," Impa said. Impa never said to give up on anything, especially if it had to do with Zelda's visions.

"Mother would have believed me," Zelda replied.

"That is much different, Zelda. Your mother also had the gift of visions. Remember, she foresaw the end of the war, and the hardship to come, which is now your visions' focal point. Your Father won't believe you, and you've already tried for several months now. Just take comfort in the fact that the goddesses have a plan. Now, you've slept late. There's no point wasting any more time. Time for you to get washed up, and then it is time for your private breakfast with your father."

After her bath, Princess Zelda put on a red dress with a golden belt. She wore a golden necklace with a rather large amulet in the shape of the Royal Family's crest: an eagle soaring beneath the Triforce. Her short, blonde hair was brushed and a tiara placed upon her head, then Impa escorted her to the dining hall.

The dining hall was massive, a white, stone dome with a skylight at the top, lighting the room. A long, marble table was the only thing of importance in the room, other than several ornate decorations and plants. A throne-like seat was placed at one end of the table. There, her father was already seated, awaiting her entrance. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. He was a handsome man, just out of the middle-aged category. His shoulder-length, blond hair was lightening, preparing its transformation to white. His majestic, blond beard hung off his dry face, cascading onto his blue tunic. He wore a red robe with a high-rising collar, adding to the regal image, which was topped with the golden crown on his head. As Impa walked Zelda into the room, his aged face lightened, and he smiled greatly, with a look only fathers have as they see their daughters for the first time in a good while.

"Zelda! You look beautiful this morning."

"But I'm late, right Father?"

"Well, yes. I would call it fashionably so. The cooks put breakfast on hold for a little while. What kept you?"

"I slept late." Impa scooted Zelda's seat, the seat on one side of the table, closest to the king's, and Zelda sat down. Impa scooted her back in, bowed to the King, and exited the room.

The private breakfast of the princess and the king was undisturbed, other than the head chef personally bringing food. Guards stood at every entrance, and Impa stood at the main entrance, awaiting Zelda. This allowed the king and his daughter a small portion of private time for each other out of an otherwise busy and claustrophobic day, full of people and important events.

At this moment, the chef brought in milk. "This is the very last of the milk, your majesty," he said.

"Very well," the king said. "Send in to the ranch for more."

"It has been done, your majesty," the chef said. Then he bowed and left.

"You slept late, Zelda?" the king asked, returning to their conversation.

"Yes, Father. I had another vision."

"Zelda! Would you stop going on about your visions! You don't have visions."

"But I do, Father! Last night I dreamt of the storm again, and a hero was established."

"Oh! A hero from the storm? Do tell." Zelda could tell he was mocking, and gave no response. "Well?"

If she said that a Kokiri boy was the hero, she knew her father would not believe her, and would probably scoff all the more. "Why don't you believe me?" she cried.

"Because you don't have visions. It is impossible."

"Why is it impossible? Because there's never been a seer as young as I?"

"That is part of it."

"Why couldn't the goddesses pick up her visions of the hardship after the war with me, after…?"

"Because, Zelda! Because the hardship was only getting the Gerudos to sign the treaty. Now that they are doing it, there is no hardship."

"And what of the curse?"

"King Dragmire claims to have a solution for that difficulty."

"And what is that?"

"He has not explained to me yet."

"Strange, you seem to spend a lot of time with him. And he's said nothing?"

"There's not much time for anything but arrangements. As a matter of fact, he's spent a longer time getting here than imagined."

"Perhaps he changed his mind."

"Zelda!"

At this time, the chef entered the room with a cooked cucco, boiled eggs, and assorted fruits. They ate in silence after the chef bowed and left. When Zelda finished, she stood and curtsied. "If you'll excuse me, Father…"

"Zelda, listen," the king responded. "I know I've spent several months working on this treaty, but after that, there will be peace. Peace! We have been at war for all of both your life and mine. Imagine, Zelda. We will have all kinds of time for us. I promise!"

After this, Zelda walked out of the room and met up with Impa.

"Are you ready for your studies, Princess?" she asked.

"Yes. Let's begin."

Impa took some books and scrolls, and taught Zelda in Zelda's private courtyard because it was a nice day, very beautiful and warm. Zelda's learning included Hylian High Speech, some astrology, ocarina and harp lessons, and Hyrulean history. Secretly, Impa would often teach Zelda self defense from the Sheikah arts as well. On this day, they were talking about the creation of Hyrule.

"Impa, we studied this a week ago. Why again?" Zelda complained.

"Because, Miss Zelda, this was the single most important day in history, as of yet."

As Impa talked of each goddess's part in creation, Zelda only half paid attention. Even though it was the nicest day Hyrule had seen in quite a while, Zelda was feeling quite pessimistic. The last thing she wanted to hear about today was the actions of the goddesses. How is it that they could put such a burden on Zelda, and still be considered so great and loving?

They allowed a horrible war to last a century, caused over the very memento they left for the peoples of Hyrule, which divided whole families with death. That war took Zelda's mother as well. After the loss of her mother, the queen, she inherited her gift of visions, but only one other person believed she received her dreams from the goddesses. No one believed her as it was, but now she was receiving visions of children saving the world. So even though she could see the future, all she was able to do was watch it become the present. A single tear left her indigo eye and slid down her cheek.

"Princess," Impa said. "I didn't know this story touched you so deeply."

"No, Impa," she replied. "It's not that…"

"I know what it is," Impa said. "Princess, I told you already, the goddesses have a plan." In an instant, Impa had switched from sitting opposite Zelda with a book in her hand, to right next to her with her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "They have a reason for choosing everyone in their plans as well. You with your visions, the Kokiri boy in them, everyone. For all you know, this may not happen for several years to come, and the goddesses are just preparing you."

"But these visions are such a heavy burden," Zelda cried. "I can't carry them alone much longer!"

"But you are not alone, Zelda. I am here to help you. As long as you share everything you see with me, we can converse about it and it will lift some of this weight. I will always be here with you. Now how does this sound? If it makes you feel more comfortable, we will increase your training."

"What do you mean?"

"You know all the basics of the Sheikah arts, and your movements are starting to become less amateur. I will teach you the secret shadow arts of the Sheikah, the strongest and most helpful of the Sheikah's abilities. I never planned to teach you, because you must be a full-fledged Sheikah to learn, and I doubt your father would approve, but it may be a necessary precaution to take. That way, if you would like, we can assist this Kokiri in defeating whatever evil creeps in Hyrule."

"Really?" Zelda asked excitedly. "That's splendid!"

"Good. We'll start immediately."

"Oh, but what about schooling?"

"Princess, you studied creation just last week. Why again?"

They returned to Zelda's chamber and she changed into her training clothes, clothes Impa used to wear when she was Zelda's age. It was a blue leotard with the Sheikah eye symbol on the upper left portion of the chest. Zelda easily slipped her red dress back on over it and they went back out to her private courtyard, where she removed the dress again.

"Today, we'll just go over some basics," Impa said. "The shadow arts of the Sheikah are the best kept secret we have, and that's saying something."

"What are the shadow arts?" Zelda asked.

"The great abilities of a Sheikah that allow us to do things that no other Hylians can. The shadow arts are actually brought about in much the same way as the powers of the sages of old. Since Sheikah aren't bestowed powers from the gods, however, their powers aren't as strong, but, while sages utilized all the magic from one element, we Sheikah draw energy from all of Hyrule."

"How's that?" Zelda asked.

"Long ago, the founder of the Sheikah discovered the way to channel all kinds of Hyrulean magic into his body through hand signals. Drawing on the powers of the earth and mingling them with his own spirit energy, he could use his body to further extents than any other Hylian. The first and easiest hand signal for a Sheikah to learn is the shadow." Impa made a strange symbol by interweaving her fingers. "You try."

Zelda attempted to mimic Impa's hand pattern, but Impa corrected her and helped her form it correctly. It hurt Zelda's hand at first, but after a brief second she felt a slight calm come over her, and her hands felt as though they were made to form that exact signal.

"You feel the energy flow through you," Impa stated. "The next step is holding that energy. You can't just keep your hands like that, especially in a fight. Retaining the energy after breaking the connection involves intertwining the life force of the element with your own life force."

"How?" Zelda asked slowly, afraid to break the energy flow.

"It is all inside you now. You must hold onto it. In order to do so, you must be in touch with your own magic. This is where many Sheikah fledglings spend whole years of their lives: learning to use their own ki, or spirit energy. I believe you are not afar off from your own, being in tune with the goddesses. You already retain Hyrulean magic through your visions, I believe. Also, magic is said to run deep in the Royal Family's blood."

"So what do I do now?" Zelda asked.

"You must find inner calm, and face your true self."

"Sounds like some sort of pilgrimage," Zelda stated.

Impa gently unwound Zelda's fingers. "No. Sounds like meditation."

They spent most of the rest of the afternoon in silence, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard. At first, Zelda tried to talk to Impa, but the Sheikah wouldn't converse, leaving Zelda to think about what Impa said about this meditation.

She needed to find inner calm? What was that? And what about facing her true self? She was calm, wasn't she? Sure, Zelda had burst into tears a couple times recently, but that was because of the hardships she faced. The goddesses just put too much on such a young girl. Why did they do what they did? Zelda started going over all the ways the goddesses had let her down, until at about 17:00, a trumpet sounded on the castle wall. Impa lifted her head from its bowed position, and Zelda jumped straight up.

"We have a visitor, Zelda," Impa said. Zelda quickly slipped her dress over her leotard. Zelda hurried inside, Impa following closely, and they stopped to look out a window on the outer wall of the castle to see who was arriving.

Outside, a great ruckus was being raised. A parade of red-haired women on warhorses was passing into the castle gates. Impa made a sound of disgust.

"Gerudos," she said.

In the middle of this parade was a tall, handsome, muscular, red-haired man. A male Gerudo was only born every one hundred years, and was appointed king upon birth. This man had been king for about thirty years. His name was Ganondorf Dragmire.

As Zelda realized what was going on, King Dragmire passed through the gate and noticed Zelda standing in the window. As their eyes met, Zelda felt a chill go up her spine. In his yellow, Gerudo eyes, she saw a thousand evil deeds.


	2. A Pig in the House of Kings

Author's note: Okay, I know this is really corny, over dramatic. I can't help but write a story like this that way. Just stick with it; it's about to get good!

**Chapter Two: **A Pig in the House of Kings

Bright, yellow eyes formed clouds, which in turn became a storm. Every lightning crack revealed those same eyes. Zelda opened her own eyes and found she was in a cave, hiding from the storm. Impa was there with her. Zelda peered out of the cave and saw Hyrule Castle burning down. The town was already demolished. Ghostly hands gripped Kakariko. Death Mountain was in flames, and the Gorons were dying. Zora's River was frozen, and Lake Hylia dried up. Gerudos rode around Hyrule Field on their horses, while their king, Ganondorf, held up the King of Hyrule's Hundred Years Peace Treaty. The name "Ganondorf Dragmire" was signed on it. Ganondorf laughed a sinister laugh and the treaty burned in his hand. Lightning flashed and all Zelda saw were his eyes. She diverted her eyes into the cave, but the cave had disappeared. Instead, she saw the entrance to the Lost Woods. The Triforce appeared in the clouds above, and emitted an eerie light straight down to the forest. Standing at the point where the light met the ground was a boy with green clothes and a fairy, holding a green and shining stone - the Spiritual Stone of the Forest.

The storm blew away and everything grew brighter, and brighter, until she and the boy were the only things visible, standing in the sky. The boy was now a man, no longer a mere Kokiri, yet she stood at eye level with him. They talked for quite a while, but Zelda would never remember the discussion when she awoke. Zelda was crying, and he was sad and confused. Every word spoken hurt inside, though they were not upset with each other, until finally Zelda lifted a beautiful, blue ocarina and played the Song of Time...

"Princess! Are you okay?" Impa was sitting over her, holding Zelda's head in her hands. "You fainted, right in front of the window!"

Several guards were standing around. "Oh," Zelda said. "I'm sorry. How embarrassing! I must've gotten too much sun. I'm fine now, thank you." The guards went back to their posts.

"Impa," Zelda said, getting up. "That man, the Gerudo King. He is the storm."

They went back to Zelda's private chamber.

"So what happened back there, Princess?" Impa asked.

Zelda took a seat on her bed. "He saw me," she said. "He looked at me and our eyes met. Then I fainted and I had a vision. It made it quite clear that he will start the storm of evil by signing Father's peace treaty. The hero appeared again. The Kokiri boy. But he became a man in my dream."

"Remember, Princess, visions are figurative, using all kinds of metaphors. It may just be that this child is as mature or strong as a man."

"True, but it seemed to me..." Zelda was cut off by a knock at the door. "Yes? Come in."

A messenger girl, just short of Zelda's age, entered and curtsied. "His majesty, the King, requests your presence at a banquet this evening to welcome his royal highness, King Dragmire."

Zelda looked to Impa for a reply, but Impa said nothing. "Tell my father I will... not be joining him. I have... other matters to attend to."

The messenger girl curtsied again and said, "Yes, madam. I will deliver your response." Then she left.

"Princess!" Impa said. "Now why did you do that?"

"I... it was Ganondorf. I can't eat a meal with him!"

"You can and you must! If you act like you hate him before you meet him, you may blow the very secrecy the gods have blessed you with."

"Secrecy?"

"Yes. Secrecy is the Sheikah's best friend. With it, you can stop your enemy before they even know you're a threat. The Sheikah arts can be a dark and powerful tool in the wrong hands, but those of the Sheikah clan swore long ago to defend the King."

"Yes, I'm aware of the Sheikah Pact. By the way, Impa..."

"Yes?"

"Where do the Sheikah come from? We've never actually studied that."

"That is because the history of the Sheikah is also shrouded in secrecy. Very well, you are practically a Sheikah yourself. I will tell you. The Sheikah are of very noble origin, whether they seem it or not.

"It was during the time of the original sages, of which only Rauru is still active. The sages had great magical power, and each was said to practically control an element or aspect of life, but they all lacked physical prowess. So it was decided that each would have a protector, and a test was held to decide for each. These bodyguards were known as the Knights.

"One lad succeeded in becoming the Knight for the Head Sage, Prince Aranon. The boy was known for his strong spirit, but not his fighting skills, and he supposedly won the contest by sheer luck. So he developed a fighting tactic of sticking to the shadows and attacking at the most opportune time, when they least expected it, and from behind. Eventually the boy learned to use his strong spirit and invented the shadow arts.

"People were so amazed by the boy's skill that, after decades of practice, he established a school to teach his fighting skill to others who would learn. But he only taught those who took the same oath he did to protect Prince Aranon. This oath included protecting the sage and future king, along with his family, even if it meant death. The school was established at the base of Death Mountain, less than an hour from Hyrule Castle. It later developed into a town of these pupils, Kakariko. They became known as Sheikah, derived from the Knight's own name, Sheik."

"Sheik?" Zelda repeated.

"Yes."

"That's the name of the Sheikah boy in my dreams."

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, another knock was heard from the door.

"Yes? Come in," Zelda said again.

The messenger girl entered again and curtsied. "His majesty, the King, would like to see you in the throne room immediately, my lady. And it isn't a request."

"Thank you," Zelda said tensely.

The girl curtsied again and left the room with Zelda and Impa behind.

They traveled down the corridors and up the main staircase. Through the large double doors was the throne room. As Zelda entered, she saw her father straight ahead of her, sitting in the large, red and gold throne. All his handsome features that made him look so regal now indicated that he was fuming inside.

"Hello, Father," Zelda said with a curtsy.

"I would like to speak with my daughter alone," he said to all the people in the throne room. The guards, messengers, entertainers, and scribes all began filing out. "That means you, too, Impa."

"Yes, your highness." She bowed and stepped out. Zelda knew she was in trouble.

"You turned down my invitation?" he asked, very loudly, when the room was empty. "Do you know I had to receive word of your declination in the presence of Lord Ganondorf? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you, Father." She looked down at the floor.

"I believe you quite embarrassed the Gerudo King as well, by turning down a dinner to welcome his majesty."

"For that, I am not sorry," she said, raising her head to look at him defiantly.

"Zelda!"

"That king of thieves will bring great trouble on Hyrule!"

"King of thieves? Are you prejudiced against his people?"

"No. I have foreseen their evil."

"Zelda... For the last time, you do not have visions! And this silly game of yours could cost me the alliance of the Gerudos!"

"The alliance of the Gerudos could cost you the kingdom of Hyrule!"

"You will not speak to your father and king that way! You bring shame upon the Royal Family!"

"Father, I did have a vision today. If that man signs the treaty, he will destroy Hyrule!" Her father looked down at her from his throne angrily. He still didn't believe her. She was crying now, pleading within herself that the goddesses would help him to see the truth. But the king mistook her tears. He stood up from his throne and went to her, knelt down and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, I am sorry, Zelda. I know you hate this treaty. It has taken so much time from us. I promised you that as soon as Ganondorf signed the treaty we would have time for each other, and I intend to keep that promise. He will sign it tomorrow, and that will be that! Now go clean up and get ready for dinner." He wiped away her tears and kissed her forehead.

He didn't understand. She couldn't make him. There was nothing left to do but get ready for dinner. And thwarting Ganondorf's plans.

Zelda backed up, curtsied, responded with "Yes, Father," and left the room. She met up with Impa, who was waiting with some guards at the double doors, and explained everything to her. They returned to Zelda's chambers to freshen her up.

She changed into her nicest dress: a pale pink dress with a purple tunic over it, held together with a golden belt. The tunic bore the crest of the Royal Family: the Triforce and red eagle. On her head she wore a headdress of the same colors that covered most of her short, blonde hair. It was banded with a brooch bearing the Triforce. Her neck was decorated with a gold encrusted ruby. She wore white slippers with high heels, adding to her regal appearance.

"You look beautiful," Impa said. "Now, behave."

Impa escorted her to the dining hall, and Zelda took her seat near her father, Impa standing behind. The marble dining table now had a throne at each end of it, King Hyrule in one and King Dragmire in the other.

Dinner began with the pouring of wine in everyone's glasses. Ganondorf was immediately upset. "Wine?" he said in a deep voice that Zelda immediately defined as cruel and rude. "Daphnes, I thought we were going to have milk with dinner!"

"Milk? Why would you assume so, my friend?" Daphnes responded politely.

"We are having steaks, yes?" Ganondorf said.

"Well, yes."

"The steak and the milk come from the same place, the cow. Should we not make best use of the cow?"

"But Ganondorf, proper etiquette suggests wine with red meat," the king returned.

"There is no such rule where I come from," Ganondorf replied. "Besides, my friend, wine we can… acquire easily in Gerudo country, but there isn't enough green to keep cows. Does formal etiquette not suggest to feed your guest what he does not normally have available to him?"

"You are absolutely right, Ganondorf," Daphnes said. He clapped his hands and called, "Garrett!" The head cook entered the room and bowed.

"Can you prepare milk for us instead, Garrett?" the king asked.

"Your highness, do you not remember? We sent out for milk this morning."

"Ah, yes. I had forgotten. You are dismissed."

Garrett bowed again and returned to the kitchen.

"I am dreadfully sorry, Lord Ganondorf," Daphnes said. "I hope you will find wine suitable for tonight?"

"I suppose it will do, King," Ganondorf replied.

Salad was brought out, which Ganondorf refused to eat. He said he was saving his appetite for meat. The kings carried on conversations across the long table, while most other people listened to their discussions or held their own amongst themselves. Zelda just listened to everything said by her father and Ganondorf. So dinner continued in this fashion, until close to the end of the main course, in which Ganondorf proved his disfavor for table manners, preferring instead to pick the steak up in his hands and rip it with his teeth, much to the disgust of the Hylian percentage of the table.

At this point, between large bites, Ganondorf addressed Zelda. "Princess, you've been awfully quiet. I understand you didn't want to join us this evening?"

"I… felt fatigued," she replied.

"I'm sure you were!" he mocked. "I heard you decided to take a nap in the middle of the castle floor!"

"Ganondorf!" King Hyrule said.

"It was the sun," Zelda said. "I fainted from heat, Lord Ganondorf."

"It seemed cool enough to me today," he replied. "If I'm not mistaken, did you faint when you saw me?"

"Ganondorf!" the king said again.

"Mere coincidence, my lord," Zelda said. Did he know everything? Had he deduced what she was planning? Had she given herself away? She wiped a sweat drop from her brow.

"One of my servants overheard a rumor that you see prophetic visions, Princess. Have you seen a vision of me?" Ganondorf was raining down on her. He knew! He had to know.

"Ganondorf! That's quite enough!" King Daphnes said. "You are harassing my daughter!"

Her father was afraid of her answer, she thought. If Ganondorf knew, there was no point in her father getting involved. She'd have to find out for sure, though. "It's alright, Father," she said. "I'm sorry, Lord Dragmire, but that rumor is just that: a rumor. My mother was a seer, but I am not." She knew her father was breathing a sigh of relief. If Ganondorf knew the truth, he would have to call her bluff.

"You seem to overheat easily, Princess," Ganondorf said. "You won't faint again, will you?"

Zelda realized he was calling attention to her perspiration, which had grown profuse. "Ganondorf!" the king said once more, but Zelda stood and rushed out of the room. "Zelda?"

Impa bowed and left the room after her. Zelda's attendant caught up to her as the princess hurried toward her chamber.

"Did you hear him, Impa?" Zelda said through tears. "He knows! He knows and it's all my fault!"

"I don't believe he knows, Princess."

"Weren't you listening!"

"The question, Miss Zelda, is were you? He opened with your declination, Princess. Gerudos are a proud, vengeful people. He was more than likely getting revenge for refusing to eat with him. He was just trying to upset you, and it worked. Now calm down."

They reached Zelda's room and with some more words of comfort, Impa soothed her. Zelda dressed for bed shortly after. She silently thanked the goddesses for Impa, the only one who stood with her, and her father, who, though he didn't believe she had visions, loved her very much. Then, Zelda fell asleep.


	3. Heroes Live and Die

**Chapter 3: **Heroes Live and Die

That night, Zelda dreamt of a wild boar that entered the castle and made a mess of everything. She had to wonder if it was considered a vision, since the event actually occurred the night before.

Impa woke her sometime around 6:30. She bathed, dressed, and went to private breakfast with her father at 7:30.

"Good morning, Zelda!" he greeted as she entered the room in a white skirt under a formal blue tunic. Her bangs were hanging on either side of her face. "You look splendid as ever!"

"Thank you, Father," she said with a curtsy. She took her seat at the table with him. Breakfast included eggs, cornbread, and varied fruits with milk to drink.

"Ah. Milk," Zelda said. Her father laughed.

"Yes," he said. "It turns out Talon was already bringing his monthly shipment, but stopped in town last night to deliver to a noble within town, Erinne. Talon is still bringing in crates. He insists on doing it himself, but he will fall asleep, as always."

"Oh. I was afraid Talon came over night, through Stalchildren and such."

"Funny you should mention the Stalchildren…"

"Funny, Father? I fail to see what is funny about them. And they have been mentioned everyday since they began rising from the earth!"

"Yes, yes. I know, but there's a rumor going around town."

"What kind of rumor?" Zelda asked anxiously.

"Well, I believe it was started by one of the guards. He claimed that he saw a boy wearing all green, possibly a Kokiri, come into the marketplace after fighting Stalchildren all night long. He had scratches and bruises, and there was blood all over him. He fought those creatures all night, Zelda! Some are saying he may even break the curse of the Stalchildren!"

"Well, Father! You seem fairly excited about all of this!" Truthfully, Zelda could hardly contain her own excitement. Was it the Kokiri boy? It couldn't be a coincidence. "Is there any fact to this wild fantasy?"

"Everyone is talking about it. Many people say they saw him! The funny part is that after his heroics, he dropped unconscious in Town Square!"

"Well he fought skeletons all night, Father! Surely he would be weary."

"Speaking of which, Zelda, listen to me. I am very sorry for the humiliation you endured last night."

"Oh, don't bother, Father," she replied. "If blame belongs to anyone but Sir Dragmire, I brought it upon myself."

"Don't worry. As soon as he signs that treaty today, he will leave."

"Promise?"

"Well, as courtesy, he may stay one last night and leave in the morning, so that the darkness and Stalchildren might not catch him."

"That's fine, I suppose," she replied.

"Don't worry, though. This will all be over soon."

After breakfast, Zelda and Impa were heading for Zelda's private courtyard for her lessons. As they were heading about to turn the corner into the courtyard, they heard Ganondorf's voice, and he sounded very upset. They stopped to listen.

"One Kokiri took out how many Stalchildren!"

"It doesn't matter," said a female voice. They decided it was more than likely a Gerudo. "They reassemble themselves, Lord Ganondorf."

"I know! I'm not worried about how many soldiers I have, Talia," Ganondorf said. "The Stalchildren are weak. I'm concerned about what might happen to my plan if a small boy had enough courage to defy my curse!"

"The people believe he may even break the curse!"

Zelda peeked around the corner and saw Ganondorf pick up the Gerudo messenger by the throat and start choking her.

"We will speak of this no more!" he said, and threw her to the ground. She grasped her neck and started gasping for air.

Ganondorf knelt over the Gerudo, who gazed in terror as he reached out his hand. But all he did was pluck a flower from the grass next to her. He stood straight up as he twirled the flower in his fingers.

"Does anyone know where this boy is?" he asked while staring at the flower.

"A… a small girl was seen dragging him down a back alley after he fainted."

"Hmm… There isn't much we can do about that. A fluke. A minor set back. The people can have their child savior for now, but soon enough…" Suddenly, the flower burst into flame and incinerated in his hand, then Ganondorf entered a state of maniacal laughter. "Let's go," he said. They started walking to the courtyard exit, where Impa and Zelda were standing. Zelda ducked back around the corner before they saw her.

"Impa!" she quietly exclaimed. Impa grabbed Zelda and held her tight. The Sheikah guardian made a shadow art hand signal, and jumped over the passageway into the courtyard, still holding Zelda. Impa's legs made contact with the opposite wall, and she kicked off, causing the two to fly through the air and land on a balcony high above.

After Ganondorf and Talia had passed, Impa took Zelda again and leapt from balcony to balcony, over the wall, and into the courtyard, landing softly and silently in the grass. Zelda was in awe of the whole ride.

"It felt like we were flying!" she said.

"You will learn to do that in due time," Impa responded. "Until then, you must meditate."

"Perhaps. But I am very worried, Impa."

"About Ganondorf?"

"Yes. I believe that Kokiri boy is the one from my vision, and I'm afraid Ganondorf will do something to him!"

"The goddesses will not allow their chosen one to be defeated, Princess."

"I know, but should I even have to worry, Impa? I feel like… I feel like I must compete in an archery contest, but instead of a bow I've been given a slingshot!"

"Princess, do not judge the goddesses' ways. It was not given to you to see the goddesses' actions through; just to see them."

"You're right, Impa. I'm sorry. But what can a Kokiri do against a sorcerer?"

"Sorcerer?"

"Yes. He's powerful, too. I can sense it. He casually burned a flower with his hand."

"Hmm… This is dangerous, indeed…"

"Yes, Impa. And the gods have chosen a Kokiri!"

"Zelda! What did I just say? In any case, Ganondorf seemed awfully worried about the boy, but you didn't come up once."

"So?"

"Well if he isn't concerned with you, he doesn't know what we're planning."

"True," Zelda replied, her face lighting up. Her hero had entered town, Ganondorf would soon be leaving, and he had no clue that they would soon stop his nefarious scheme before it even got off the ground.

"Today, I thought we would skip usual studies because of the ceremony later," Impa said. This immediately made Zelda happier. "But instead, you must meditate."

Zelda was slightly upset over that notion, but obliged. Even princesses enjoy a day off from school. She sat cross-legged once more with Impa, with her arms on her thighs and her eyes closed. She sat there for a long period of time. An hour? Two? For all she knew it could have been ten minutes. Meditation was so incredibly boring. Schoolwork would probably be a more productive use of her time. She didn't even concentrate as she was supposed to. She was too excited, and too many plans and thoughts were rushing through her head.

She opened her eyes, and Impa was gone. Where did she go, and how long had she been gone? Impa was so silent that there was no telling. Zelda started wondering if she should report this to her father, because Impa wasn't to leave Zelda's side unless directly commanded by the king himself. She stood up and started walking around. The courtyard was so quiet. It was quite enjoyable.

Zelda heard the sound of footsteps coming toward the courtyard. It couldn't be Impa because Zelda could hear each time the foot fell. Whoever was coming would see Zelda alone, and Impa would be fired, or executed, or something, and Zelda wouldn't receive the training she needed.

"Princess," Impa said from behind her. Zelda turned to face her.

"Where were you? Where did you come from?"

"I jumped down from the castle wall."

"P-princess," a voice said.

Zelda turned to see the messenger girl curtsy in the entrance to the courtyard. She must have been nervous because she needed the princess' attention, but wasn't actually supposed to speak until spoken to. 'Ah, well,' thought Zelda. 'If Impa can leave me alone, this girl can catch my attention.'

"Yes?" Zelda responded.

"Princess. His majesty, the king, wanted me to inform you that the treaty ceremony is postponed until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" she returned, but after regaining her composure said plainly, "Tomorrow?"

"Yes, madam. Lord Dragmire wished to visit town today. Shall I have the girls wash your purple dress for tomorrow?"

"Yes, please."

The girl curtsied and left.

"Do you think he's searching for the Kokiri?" Zelda asked Impa.

"I would not doubt it, Miss Zelda."

"He fell asleep and is being watched by a small girl. If Ganondorf finds him…"

" 'If' is a big word, Princess. Hyrule Castle Town is quite large and foreign to Lord Ganondorf, and he wants to maintain favor with the king and his people. He won't find the boy, I'm sure. Now, it is time for noon luncheon."

"Noon? How long was I meditating?"

"No time at all. You were thinking of the Kokiri," Impa teased. "Now, I've brought a meal. Would you like to eat out here?"

"Most certainly!" Zelda answered. They set up a picnic in Zelda's courtyard and began eating.

"I wanted to eat out here because it is private," Impa said. "There is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"While I was getting lunch, I passed the Royal Treasury. There was a Gerudo snooping around there. Those thieving…"

"Did she take anything?"

"No. She didn't get in, but she was scouting it out."

"You mean like casing a robbery?"

"Princess! Where did you learn that thief talk?"

"I study. So…"

"Yes. I believe Ganondorf plans to rob the treasury."

"Why should he? He plans to own the castle and the entire kingdom soon enough."

"Think, Zelda. You are right, but I don't think he is after the whole treasury. Just one item."

Zelda's faced burst into a sudden realization. "The Ocarina of Time." Nothing else needed saying. If this were the case, his plan was revealed. If he was after the treasure of the Royal Family of Hyrule, the Ocarina of Time, he must have intended to learn to play the Song of Time, which would open the Door of Time, so he could enter the Sacred Realm. "If someone like Ganondorf Dragmire took the Triforce from the Sacred Realm… Impa, we can't let him!" Zelda jumped up and ran.

"Zelda!" Impa jumped up and chased her.

Zelda had to see her father. Ganondorf had to be revealed before he could do anything else. She re-entered the castle and ran to the throne room. She burst through the large double doors and stopped. Though her heart had been pounding from running, it felt as though stopped as suddenly as she had.

Ganondorf was kneeling before the king. "Yes, my friend. My visit was very fruitful…" Ganondorf was saying, but stopped and turned to see Zelda. Everyone stared at her standing there, petrified and on the verge of tears. All hope had suddenly vanished as soon as she saw. There was a green, Kokiri's hat hanging from the back of Ganondorf's belt, and he had a devilish grin on his face.

"Did you want something, Zelda?" her father asked wearily.

Her heart started again, but it seemed lodged in her throat. She just stepped backward. Had Ganondorf…? Was the Kokiri…? She continued slowly stepping backward, until she took a bad step at the top of the main staircase.

"Zelda?" the king asked again, now worried. The doors closed and she fell backward, as though in slow motion, until Impa caught her before she hit her back on the stairs.

She cried in Impa's shoulder, and Impa carried her back to her chamber. Impa asked her what had happened, and Zelda told her attendant about the hat.

They were both upset at this point, and stayed in Zelda's room the rest of the afternoon. That evening, Zelda ate dinner in her room and cried herself to sleep, no hope left in her soul.


	4. Alliance

Author's Note: Yes, yes. That last chapter was very dramatic, I know. It probably could have been better, but the story itself is about to raise three levels in coolness. Prepare for new characters, new plot elements, new thrills, chills, and… okay you get the picture. I'm finally deciding how the story will finally get real interesting, so stick around. This chapter and the next will BLOW. YOU. AWAY! (I hope)

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and review. Thanks!

**Chapter 4: **Alliance

Zelda cried. Tears mingled with raindrops as both cascaded down her face. She stood at the gates of Hyrule Castle Town, staring out into the field. The same storm billowed across the land. The wooden drawbridge to the city was crumbled and pieces were waterlogged, lying at the bottom of Zora's River. Looking behind her, toward Town Square, she saw that the town was desolate and Hylian corpses roamed the dark, wet cobblestone streets like zombies. In the distance, behind the town, was the castle. But not the castle Zelda knew. It was horribly reconfigured from its white, stone walls and beautiful, green spires into a grotesque, black pillar, floating above a new moat formed of fire.

This was not Hyrule. It may have the same land formations, the same city structures and names, but this was the twisted world formed by the wicked heart of an evil man. There was no hope left. No hero, no king. No way to restore Hyrule to peace and beauty. All that Zelda had left were her tears. Or was there more? Staring down into the blackened Zora's River the town was founded beside, she no longer saw a hopeless, eleven-year-old princess, but a battle-hardened Sheikah.

Even without a hero, she would still fight. She would still carry the hopes and dreams of Hyrule. Though she was a princess, she was now also a Sheikah learner, a student of the shadow arts, and if nothing else, she would fight back. As she prepared to assault Ganondorf's Castle, a melody caught her ear. The lullaby Impa played for Zelda as a young child. Staring off as far as the Lost Woods, Zelda saw Impa playing her one-handed ocarina.

Suddenly, a light shot out of the forest and parted the clouds. Light shone across the field, and the light from the forest became a boy. The boy was a Kokiri. He wore green clothes, a fairy floated at his side, and he carried the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. Suddenly, a cucco crowed the shrillest crow ever heard.

Zelda woke early. Out her east window she barely saw light touching the tops of the hills. Impa was already preparing her clothes for the ceremony.

"When did we get cuccos at the castle?" Zelda asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We didn't," Impa replied. "What are you talking about?"

"That crow," Zelda answered. "Didn't you hear it?"

"No."

"Oh. Must have been my dream."

"Another dream, Princess?"

"Yes." Zelda proceeded to relate her dream to Impa. By the end, Impa was smiling.

"What is so great about it, Impa? If Ganondorf caught the boy, why am I still having prophetic dreams about him?"

"Precisely," Impa replied.

"You think maybe… the boy's still alive?" Zelda asked.

Impa nodded and Zelda sat straight up excitedly. "I told you the goddesses would protect their chosen hero," Impa said. "Now, it is good that you are awake. The ceremony will be early this morning, so breakfast with your father will be canceled."

"Why so early?" Zelda asked.

"Because your father decided that Ganondorf could leave as soon as the treaty was signed. Ganondorf grudgingly agreed, I suppose."

Zelda got up and got ready for the day, humming the lullaby Impa played. Things were looking up. Ganondorf was leaving, the Kokiri boy was still alive, and finally there might be peace in Hyrule again.

Peace. Zelda wondered if she even knew what true peace was. She was born in the midst of a war that was just now ending. She could not even find inner peace. Or had she found it and that was what was making her so happy? Impa was always pretty happy despite her menacing appearance. Perhaps Zelda could begin learning the shadow arts now.

There was a knock at the door while Impa was brushing Zelda's hair.

"Yes? Come in," Zelda said.

The messenger girl entered the room and curtsied. "The treaty ceremony will be in half an hour, my lady."

"Thank you," Zelda said. "You are dismissed."

"But that is not all, my lady," the girl said. This response defied order, and either the girl had something important to say, or she was planning a revolt. Being a ten-year-old girl, the answer had to be the former.

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

"Your father, the king, wishes that you do not attend."

"Not attend?"

"Yes, madam." The girl curtsied again and left the room.

"I wonder what that was about," Zelda said.

"Your father probably just doesn't want you to disrupt this event as you have every other one since Ganondorf has arrived," Impa replied.

"Impa!"

"You know it's the truth, Princess. Now, let's head to your courtyard. We can do your studies there, and…" Impa paused.

"And what?"

"And there's a window looking into the ceremony room from your courtyard, Miss Zelda."

"That's true!"

Impa gathered up some scrolls and books and they hurried to the courtyard. It was still very dark outside. Light still had not reached over the castle walls to the inner courtyards. Along the way, Zelda thought she heard a high-pitched cucco crow, just like in her dream.

"When did we get cuccos, Princess?" Impa joked. So Impa had heard it as well. This crow was not in Zelda's imaginings.

When they reached the privacy of Zelda's courtyard, Impa put the books and things on the windowsill and sat the princess down. "You should meditate for the next twenty minutes, Zelda."

"But Impa, I think I've found inner calm and my true self already."

"Really? You _think_? If you'd actually found it, you would know for certain."

"But I have never been this happy or determined in my life!" Zelda responded.

"Why? Because you know who you truly are? Or because Ganondorf is leaving and the goddesses are with you? Zelda, inner calm does not come from outer sources. Now meditate, Princess."

Zelda sat in her meditation position and thought. How could she have been so stupid? Impa was right. She didn't know herself. She was just so easily cast about by surrounding events.

As she began studying herself, her thoughts once again turned to plans to stop Ganondorf. He was after the Triforce. He was already too powerful for Zelda, Impa, and probably the Kokiri. They would need more power, or a different kind, to defeat him.

It seemed just a short time later when a trumpet sounded, announcing the start of the ceremony. Zelda hopped up and ran to the window. All she saw inside were a couple guards wearing ceremonial armor, lining the walls. She realized Impa wasn't in the courtyard again.

As her ears calmed from the blast of the trumpets, another loud sound came. This time, the shrill cucco crow again, coming from behind her. She turned to face the source.

Light was now shining from over the wall, right down on her. The glare of the sun half-blinded her, but she could make out the shadow of a figure in the courtyard entryway.

"Who!" she said, trying to control her thoughts. It was dark, Impa was missing, and someone had come to her courtyard. There were so many guards along the path to this courtyard, either this person had free passage through the castle, or they were really good at sneaking around.

The stranger didn't answer, so she asked again. "Who are you? How did you get past the guards?"

Suddenly, a bright ball of light came out from behind the figure and a female voice said something inaudible. Then, she heard the voice say, "You're scaring her!"

The figure took a few steps toward Zelda. Zelda suddenly realized the voice was coming from the ball of light. A fairy! "Is that… a fairy!" As the figure stepped into the light, she saw it was a boy her age, in a green tunic and a green hat. Both articles of clothing were soaked, and the boy was carrying his boots in his hand. "Are you from the forest?"

It was him! The Kokiri boy from her visions! He was very much alive, and had finally arrived! The boy nodded in response to her question. He seemed uneasy and a bit afraid. The hero was afraid? What should she say?

"Then…" she started. "Then… You wouldn't happen to have… the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?"

The fairy flew behind the boy and he walked forward, pulling out the green, shining stone she'd seen so many times in her visions from a pack on his back. One of the three keys to reaching the Triforce was here, in the possession of the hero, just as the goddesses said.

"Just as I thought!" she said. She laughed out of joy.

"I had a dream…" she said. She had to tell him in order to prepare him for his mission. "In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... But suddenly, a ray of light shone out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground… The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy…"

The boy seemed very interested in the story, and his fairy said, "That would be us." Zelda found the fairy very interesting, but was somewhat uncomfortable around it. Never had she seen a fairy in person before, and the whole idea of conversing with one was somehow odd.

Zelda just continued speaking. "I know that this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest… And, yes, I thought you might be the one…" Suddenly, she realized she didn't know his name, and for all she knew, he didn't know hers. "Oh!" she said just as suddenly, and the boy was startled into a jump. "I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."

The boy's eyes got wide in excitement. Apparently they had been eagerly looking for her. The boy didn't return an answer. Was he mute? Did his fairy have to speak for him?

"What is your name?" she asked.

"L-Link," he responded. "My name is Link, Princess."

"Link…" Zelda said aloud. She recognized the name, though she didn't know anyone by it. "Strange… it sounds somehow… familiar." She decided to get back on topic. This boy didn't seem like he knew anything about the Triforce or the stones. "Okay then, Link… I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone."

"Sure," the boy answered. He seemed to be slowly overcoming his shyness.

She recalled the tales her mother told her from childhood. "The legend goes like this. The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule – the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands."

"Oh, cool!" the boy said. "So, I could get, like, a ham sandwich, or a… fruit of some kind… man, I'm getting really hungry. When was the last time I ate!"

Using the Triforce to get food? That was the most irreverent thing Zelda had heard outside of Ganondorf. This was the hero?

"Link, would you take this seriously?" she said. "My goodness. You Kokiri are quite… what's the word? Rambunctious?"

"Uh… I wouldn't know," Link said. "That's a big word."

A big word! This boy was no hero! Well, if this was the goddesses' choice…

"Anyway, Link, back to the legend. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil. That is what has been told. So the ancient sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones."

"Temple of Time?" the boy interrupted. He obviously had much to learn.

"Yes, that's right," said Zelda. "The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And, in order to open the door, it is said that you need three Spiritual Stones."

"Door of Time, Spiritual Stones," Link said, as if he were memorizing it.

"Right. And another thing you need… is the treasure that the Royal Family keeps along with this legend… the Ocarina of Time!"

"So what's with all this 'Time' stuff?"

"What?" Zelda started wishing the boy were still too nervous to talk. Every time he opened his mouth he seemed less and less a hero.

"Temple of Time, Door of Time, Ocarina of Time… couldn't they come up with other titles?"

How could she phrase this so he would understand? "I guess it is a theme, Link. Perhaps it means that they have withstood the weathering of time."

"What's that? The Weathering of Time. How does that fit in?"

Zelda was just about to do something violent when the fairy said, "Link, give it up."

Zelda cooled down and said, "This story is only what has been told, as I said before."

"By who?" Link asked.

"What?"

"That is what has been told by who? How do you know it is real?"

Of all the unbelieving, irreverent things to say, Zelda thought this was the worst.

"It _is _real, Link. It is the oldest tale in Hyrule! There are shrines, pedestals, and temples all over the world dedicated to this belief."

"So who told you?" he asked.

She thought she'd made the point clear, but since he wanted details… "My mother."

"Oh." Finally. "What's that?"

"What?" He didn't know the word 'mother'? Oh, but he was a Kokiri! "Oh! You don't have a mother do you? Just the Great Deku Tree."

Zelda now felt sorry for him, though she no longer had a mother either. She couldn't imagine what it was like not to have one. Maybe this boy wasn't so bad. She'd almost forgotten he was a Kokiri. He wasn't stupid, or irreverent, just extremely sheltered.

"No, not him either," Link said in reference to the Deku Tree. "He was cursed, and he died."

Now the boy was all alone in the world. Perhaps that is why he was chosen.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Zelda said. Who in the world would have cursed the Great Deku Tree? "Wait…" She could think of someone. "Do you know who cursed him?"

"Yes. A bug." A bug! "Wait! No!" he corrected himself. "The Great Deku Tree said it was a man from the dessert."

"Dessert?" What was that supposed to mean?

"Desert, Link!" the fairy corrected.

"Oh! The desert," Link said.

"A man from the desert?" Zelda said. "I think I know who. There's only one man from the desert that I know of."

"Who is it?" Link asked eagerly.

"He is in here." Zelda waved her hand in the direction of the window. "I was spying through the window just now. The other element from my dream, the dark clouds, I believe they symbolize that man in there! Do you want to see him?"

"Yes, I do," Link answered. He stepped up to the window and peeked in.

"Can you see the man with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked.

"I think I know who he is," Link said after a moment.

"That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere."

"I'll say," Link replied.

"The dark clouds in my dream… They must symbolize that man!"

Suddenly, the hat Link wore popped off his head to reveal a baby cucco. It gave a loud, squeaky cock-a-doodle-doo, and Link jumped backward.

"What happened?" Zelda asked, startled. "Did he see you?" Oh no! If Ganondorf knew the boy was here, there would be trouble.

The fairy swooped up the chick and took him to the ground. Then she started whispering to it harshly.

"Don't worry," Zelda said, more to reassure herself than Link. Then she remembered Ganondorf was leaving today! Link's hat was off when Ganondorf saw him, and Link's shoulders barely came above the sill. The boy's face could easily pass as Hylian. Ganondorf had no way of knowing, and he couldn't do anything about it anyway. With new courage, Zelda said, "He doesn't have any idea what we're planning… yet!"

"What are we planning?" Link asked.

"To stop him from taking Hyrule from my father, of course," she answered, as if it were obvious.

"Didn't you tell your father about him?" Link asked.

"Yes. I told my father about my dream. However, he didn't believe it was a prophecy. But… I can sense that man's evil intentions! What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And he wants to conquer Hyrule… no, the entire world!"

"You 'sensed' all of this?" Link asked. Zelda felt a little mockery in his speech.

"Well, yes. I've also found some of it out for certain myself."

"And your father still doesn't believe you?"

"Link, my father will not… cannot believe me. Now, we are the only ones who can protect Hyrule!"

Link started laughing. Why was he laughing? Was that funny?

"What is so funny?"

"Oh no! I'm not laughing at you, Zelda. It's just that you're telling me that two children are the only hope to save the world from an evil sorcerer! I mean, all I've got is a sword, a shield, and a slingshot!"

"A slingshot?" Hadn't she compared Link to a slingshot only yesterday?

"Yeah. But I won an archery game with it!"

"You what?" Zelda laughed now. The goddesses seemed to enjoy irony. A slingshot that won an archery game. There may be hope yet.

"Now what's so funny about that?" Link said.

"No, no," Zelda said, afraid she'd offended him. "Just ironic."

"Okay." Zelda wasn't sure he understood the word. Though they grew up in different worlds, Link and Zelda weren't all that different. She was thinking the same thing as he: that two children could not defeat a sorcerous man like Ganondorf. And according to her dreams, it was going to get worse before it got better.

"Link, I am afraid," she said. "I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power! But it is fortunate that you have come. We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! If I have anything to say, he shall not have it! Your mission, Link, will be to find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does and then defeat him!"

The plan she just explained to Link was the best one she had come up with. It was the only one that seemed to have much of a chance. Alone they couldn't defeat him. Together they couldn't defeat him. Even Impa probably couldn't stop him. Their only chance would be to obtain a greater power, and by getting the Triforce they could stop him from getting it, and use it against him. She would get the Ocarina and hide it, and Link would get the other stones from the Gorons and the Zoras.

"One more thing…" Zelda said. She picked up a quill and a sheet of parchment from the sill, and then wrote a letter to allow Link passage up Death Mountain to see the Gorons. No one without a note from the Royal Family was allowed, due to the terms under which Darunia, leader of the Gorons, agreed to sign the Hundred Years Peace Treaty. "Take this letter," she said when she had signed it, and handed it to him. "I'm sure it will be helpful to you."

"But I didn't get you anything, Princess," Link said. This wasn't a gift; it was an aid in his journey!

"No, we did, Link!" the fairy said. She reached in his pack and pulled out a flat, black box. She started trying to carry it to Zelda, but couldn't hold the weight and just dropped it in Link's hands. Link handed the box to her. It was about as heavy as a brick that size might be.

"Actually, it's from Navi and the Great Deku Tree," he said.

"Link!" the fairy cried.

"Navi?" Zelda said.

"Me!" the fairy said.

"Hmm…" Link said. "I know!" He picked up the baby cucco that was now roaming the grass and placed it on top of the box. "Keep him! He'd just end up getting hurt with me!"

"Oh. Thank you," Zelda said, though she wanted nothing to do with a baby cucco.

"His name's Chub."

"Okay." Zelda noticed Impa was standing at the entrance to the courtyard. How long had she been there? "Well, good luck," Zelda said to Link. "My attendant will guide you out of the castle. Don't be afraid to talk to her."

Link about-faced and headed toward the entrance. When he noticed Impa, he seemed a bit uneasy.

"That's my attendant and bodyguard," Zelda explained.

"Oh," Link said. He walked up to her.

"I am Impa of the Sheikah," Impa said. "I am responsible for protecting Zelda. Everything is exactly as the princess foretold."

"Okay," Link said. "I guess you believe her then."

"Yes I do."

"And you heard our whole discussion?"

"Yes I did."

"I didn't even see you!"

"You are a courageous boy… Link was it?"

Link nodded.

"You are heading out on a big, new adventure aren't you?"

"Yep. Lookin' for Spiritual Stones."

"If the castle soldiers find you, there will be trouble. Let me lead you out of the castle."

"Sure!" Link said. Then he ran back over to Zelda. He picked up his hat that Chub had knocked off.

"Almost forgot this!" he said.

"Goodbye, Link," Zelda said. "And good luck on your quest! May the goddesses protect you!"

"I will be gone for a while, Princess," Impa said. "Cover for me."

"Yes, Impa."

And that was all before Link, Navi, and Impa left. Zelda turned her attention back to the window. Oddly, there was absolutely no one in there. No one.

"That's strange," Zelda said. "The ceremony should not be over yet!"

Zelda decided there was only one thing to do now. She sat down to meditate, and put her gifts aside. The plan was going into action. Link was leaving to collect the stones, and when Impa returned they would get the Ocarina of Time and hide it from Ganondorf.

Why should Zelda wait? Because she's a worthless little brat. Or at least that's what Link thought of her for sure. Sending the boy with hardly a clue to search for the Spiritual Stones of Fire and Water. Perhaps that was what she was. Perhaps he had every right to think that of her. Anytime things went awry in her little plans, she had to cry. Is this who she was? A useless crybaby princess who thinks she's so much better because she receives visions?

Link.

Suddenly, she remembered where the name came from. She had uttered the name, "Link," in her dream, when she played the Ocarina.

She listened to Chub chirp for a moment, but then heard a loud, high-pitched hum in her ears. She tried covering them, but the sound was coming from within. She fell backward and everything turned black.


	5. Flight from the Castle

Author's Note: Sorry! Mudora took too long of a break! It was clearly an accident, I promise. One week I just took a load off. The next was foresee-ably busy. And this last week I've spent my free time re-reading my past chapters, to refresh my mind and try to keep out contradictories. Now, Mudora sits here writing the day before he promised you a chapter! Anyway, I hope I haven't lost my readers' interest by this point. Let's get started!

Mudora actually posted this story 7.2.05, but had to remove due to inconsistencies. That's what I get for taking such a long break! XP New things will be typed in bold for those readers who already read the chapter. These are important additions!

**Chapter 5:** Flight from the Castle

Zelda stood in the sky again, where she had spoken with Link as an adult in her last vision. But Link wasn't there. Instead, three golden statues flew down from above and surrounded the princess. The figures appeared to be female, and Zelda knew they were images of the goddesses.

A loud voice surrounded her. The images' lips didn't move, but she knew they were speaking, sharing one soothing, feminine voice. "We expect great things from you, Zelda, the Princess of Destiny. There is more to you than you know. Do not doubt your capabilities, for we are with you. And now, we bestow unto you some of our own power."

The statues began emitting colorful auras. One of red, one of blue, and one of green. The energy that surrounded them shone brighter until everything turned white…

"Wake up, Princess," teased a deep voice. Zelda was lying in her courtyard. The sun was now over the courtyard, and as she opened her eyes she saw Ganondorf kneeling over her. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Zelda asked as she sat up. Ganondorf's yellow stare pierced into her and gave her a shiver.

"The boy. The Kokiri. I saw him here!"

"He's gone, Ganondorf," she said defiantly. "You'll never catch him now."

"And the Ocarina?"

"What about it?"

"What have you done with it?"

"Nothing. I thought your girls were checking the treasury."

Ganondorf laughed. "Someone's been a busy little girl! Anyway, I've been to the treasury. It's not there."

"Not there?"

"Don't toy with me!" he said as he raised his hand to smack her. Suddenly he stopped. As the courtyard grew silent, Zelda heard several sets of footsteps marching toward the entrance from the outer courtyards. "We'll continue this conversation later," Ganondorf whispered. He then jumped away from her and disappeared in a swirling explosion of fire.

"Zelda!" King Hyrule was standing at the entrance to her private courtyard, along with several of his personal guards.

"Father?" she said as she got on her feet. "Why are you here?"

"The ceremony came to a quick end, Zelda. Where is Impa?" he said authoritatively.

_Where _are_ you, Impa?_ She thought. It was now bright within the castle walls, which meant Zelda had to have been out for at least an hour.

_Princess?_ A thought entered Zelda's head. It sounded like Impa's voice.

"Zelda?" the king said. "Answer my question! Where is your bodyguard?"

"She is here, Father," Zelda replied. She was trying to think quickly. "She is just hiding. You know, as the Sheikah tend to do."

_Impa, what's going on?_ Zelda thought.

_I am not doing this, Princess. You are intruding on _my _thoughts._

_Of course! _Zelda thought. _I just had another vision. The goddesses offered me some of their powers!_

"Well, Impa!" the king shouted. "Come out where I can see you, now! There are things you need to know!"

_Impa, where are you? _Zelda asked again.

_I am in Kakariko, teaching the boy to play his ocarina._

_Why are you doing that?_

_I am teaching him the Royal Melody. That way, he can prove his connection to you!_

"Zelda, what is going on?" the king asked.

"Umm…" Zelda had no response.

_Impa, my father has come to my courtyard asking to speak with you!_

_That is not good, Princess! I will be there shortly!_

_Shortly isn't good enough, Impa…_

"Zelda, you cannot be left unattended," her father said. "Especially now!"

"Why, what happened?"

"A Goron messenger has come from Death Mountain. He arrived last night, just before the raising of the gate. He says that Ganondorf blocked entrance to their mine. So during the ceremony, this was brought up under the conditions he must sign in the treaty. When he protested, I had guards surround him, and then he vanished. But not before burning the entire treaty!"

"He burned the treaty?"

"Yes!"

"And what do you mean by vanished?"

"He disappeared in a flame! Then, all the Gerudos dropped smoke bombs, and once the smoke cleared, they were gone!"

"This is terrible!" Zelda said.

"Yes. What's worse, they broke into the treasury. Everything inside is a wreck, but it doesn't appear anything was taken."

"How odd…" she said. She was contemplating whether or not she should tell her father about the encounter with Ganondorf moments ago.

"Yes. Other than that, there is no trace of the Gerudos anywhere in or around the castle. They couldn't have gotten far. I've sent soldiers out across the field to search for them."

"Excellent," Zelda said. "Now, I believe I will retire."

"Not so fast, Princess," the king said. "Where do you think you're going? Where is your attendant?"

"She went out on an errand for me," Zelda explained.

"An errand? Her job is not to run errands. We have pages for running errands."

"It was a very personal errand, Father."

"Those can be dealt with as well, Zelda. You cannot allow your bodyguard to leave your side for a moment! It is her duty as a guard and a Sheikah to watch over you. Now, I will set six of my best guards to watch you, and when Impa returns from her errands, I will have a discussion with her."

"Yes, Father." Zelda knew what a "discussion" was. And it wasn't good for Impa.

**Zelda gathered up her schooling materials from the sill, the black box given her by the Deku Tree, and Chub, who was playing with the water around the moat and returned to her quarters.** Each of the six guards assigned to watch her stood outside her room; two at the entrance and one at each window. Zelda just sat in her room thinking.

Where would Ganondorf have gone? Home? No, he would much rather stay nearby to take Hyrule. Would he chase down Link? No, he had no clue where the boy went. All in all, he would probably stay close to the castle and prepare to lay siege.

And what of the Ocarina of Time? It should have been in the treasury, unless her father had it. Some protector she'd turned out to be. These were times when Zelda needed Impa, to help her think and plan. **She decided to wait until Impa's return to think anymore on the matters.**

**She sat in her room alone, but wasn't so lonely. Chub's soft chirp was warm and comforting. She decided to see what the gift in the black box was. There were latches on either side of the box on the bottom. She unlocked them and opened the box. Inside was a large book, almost as big as the box. On the cover were the words, "The Book of Mudora".**

**She pulled the book out and opened the front cover. On the inside were signatures: Mudora, and the Deku Tree as dictated to Navi. Obviously, these were the authors. She flipped the page and began reading.**

"**In a land beyond sight**

**The sky shines gold, not blue.**

**There the Triforce's might**

**Makes mortal dreams come true.**

"**Creation of Hyrule…**

"**Before life began, before the world was formed, three goddesses descended upon Hyrule's chaotic state. Din, the goddess of power, Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, and Farore, the goddess of courage. With her flaming arms, Din cultivated the land…"**

**Zelda knew all of this. Why would the Deku Tree want her to have it? She skimmed through the pages a bit. Through it all were things covered in Impa's history class, but put into more detail. Zelda spent several hours reading this book. Each section was headlined as the first. "Creation of Hyrule", "The Mysterious Prehistory", "The Gift of the Goddesses: the Master Sword", "The Discovery of the Sacred Realm", "The Sages Awaken and the Knights are Chosen". Zelda discovered many things she did not know before this day. She learned Mudora was one of the original sages. Finally, she reached a section of great interest.**

"**The Ocarina of Time and the Sealing of the Sacred Realm"**

**This section spoke of the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time being entrusted to each of the Hyrulean races. Rauru dwelled in the Temple of Light within the Sacred Realm, and the Sacred Realm was sealed with the Master Sword to protect the Triforce. Finally, Zelda read this passage:**

"**Instead of the artifacts of the seal being entrusted to sages or knights, they were entrusted to the protection of the leaders of each race and their people. The Emerald of the Forest was given to the forest-folk. The Ruby of Fire was given to the Gorons. The Sapphire of the Water was entrusted to the Zoras. And the Ocarina of Time was entrusted to Romanon, father of Aranon the sage, and king of Hyrule. But when the war of the Triforce began, the Ocarina was given to the royal composers, Sharp and his brother Flat. These two fled the war and found refuge with the Sheikah clan…"**

"**The royal composer brothers?" Zelda thought aloud. Suddenly, she snapped out of the book and realized it was growing late. Impa had surely returned by now. Zelda reached out with her thoughts.**

_Impa, where are you? Are you okay?_

_I'm fine, Princess, but I don't know how much longer… Your father caught me on my return, chastised me thoroughly, and placed me in solitary confinement, promising a hearing tomorrow morning._

_That isn't good, Impa! If you're found guilty of neglecting me, you can be punished with anything up to death!_

_Yes, I know._

_Where are you?_

_In the dungeons._

_Right, I'll be there shortly._

_No, Princess…_

Zelda cut off her connection to Impa, and peeked her head out the window. The sun was setting.

"Is everything alright, Princess?" the guard who stood under her asked.

"Yes, it's fine," she said. She walked over to her door and opened it. She addressed the two guards posted there. "Can one of you two escort me to…"

"Sorry, Princess. You are not allowed to leave your room, by order of the King."

"Oh. Of course." She went back and entered Impa's secret drawer, where she kept all her Sheikah supplies. Daggers, needles, flash pellets, grapnels… Zelda grabbed several items and put them in a black satchel. Then, she changed into her training leotard. She grabbed some bandaging equipment and wrapped it around her face. If she couldn't get to Impa as the princess, she'd have to get to her as a Sheikah. **Then she realized that if she were to aid Impa in fleeing the castle, she would not easily return to her chamber. She'd just have to leave with Impa. She grabbed the book, put it back in its protective case and put the case in the bag. Then she grabbed hold of Chub.**

"**No noise," she said, as if the bird could understand her.**

She went back to the window, closed her eyes, and threw a flash pellet at the ground. There was a bright flash of light, and the guard below couldn't see a thing. She took this opportunity to jump out the window, over the guard, and down to the inner courtyards. It was dark within the castle walls again. Perfect. She made a run for it, holding onto the satchel to keep it from shaking and making noise. She ran into the shadows. If Link could sneak through the shadows, certainly she could.

Keeping to the darkest corners of the courtyards, she avoided guards and slowly made her way to her courtyard. She had to get inside again, and one of the windows around her courtyard belonged to a room with stairs leading to the lower levels, where the dungeons were.

She arrived in her courtyard, and went to the window. There, **she set Chub down and** pulled out a dagger and started scraping the window, until finally she dug a slit right through the window. Then, she turned the slit into a large circle. When the circle was completed, she tried to grab the circle of disconnected glass, but it fell into the room and shattered, making a loud crash. She **picked up Chub again, **jumped in the window and ran down the stairs.

The stairs ended in a dark, damp cellar of black and grey stone. There were cells of prison bars on either side of the main walkway, and there was a guard, sitting at a table, playing with cards by the light of a candle. His back was turned to Zelda, so she snuck up on him. What was she to do about him? **Suddenly, after all this time of silence, Chub chirped softly. **

"**Wha-?" the guard said as **he turned his head toward her. She dropped on the ground behind his chair. He just barely missed her. She knew if she could use the shadow arts, she could do something. But had she found herself? Perhaps she could, after all.

**She set Chub on the floor.** _I am nothing but a bratty Princess,_ she thought as she mimicked the shadow symbol. She felt the energy flow through her. She removed her hands from the position, and the energy vanished. _No?_

**Picking up Chub again, **she rolled under the table, and then looked around the dungeon. She could see most of the cells, but it was so dark. She couldn't see Impa. Which cell was hers?

_Impa, where are you? _She thought.

_I'm in the dungeon, Princess._

_Which cell?_

_You're here? I'm in the very back._

Zelda crawled out from under the table and crawled along the floor all the way to the back. It was very dark, and the guard was involved in his card game, so he didn't even notice her.

Finally, she reached the very back and found Impa in her jail cell.

_I'm right here, Impa. Don't speak, there's still a guard._

_Right. Did you bring a lock pick?_

_I don't know. I brought some of everything._

_Okay, it should look like a long, thin piece of metal._

Zelda searched through the satchel. It was too dark to see, so she had to feel. Finally she found something that felt like it might fit the description. She pulled it out and handed it to Impa.

_That's it,_ Impa said. Impa reached through the bars and picked the lock on the cell. The door opened with a loud creak.

"Hey! What's going on?" the guard said. He stood up, grabbed the candle, and drew his sword.

_Cover your eyes,_ Impa said. She grabbed one of the flash pellets and tossed it on the ground.


	6. The Ocarina of Time

Author's Note: What's going on now? Well, you'll just have to see! The Book of Mudora, I thought was a nice addition to Zelda's tale. No I'm not vain & in need of my name in my story, I just thought it would help connect games better. Besides, it's not even my name. I actually chose that screen name in order to write a fanfic called "The Book of Mudora", and have excerpts that would help connect all the games. This appearance in Princess' Destiny was planned from the beginning, but it was to be a cameo. Now I have no plan to write "The Book of Mudora" at the moment. If I were, it would have to wait until after Hero's Path, Princess' Destiny, the sequel to Hero's Path, and the prequel to Princess' Destiny. That's a bit of a wait, but these things are all more important (if not more interesting) to Mudora.

Now, Zelda is about to embark on a quest of great proportions. So quiet down… it's story time!

**Chapter 6: **The Ocarina of Time

A storm cloud billowed above Hyrule. Lightning flashed. The drawbridge lowered as Zelda and Impa rode out of Hyrule Castle Town on a white stallion. There on the field was the Kokiri boy, Link, that Zelda had met only this morning. Already, it felt like ages. He was startled to see them ride past. Of course he was. He was coming to see them, and they were leaving the castle. But they couldn't stop; Ganondorf would catch them…

Link was surrounded by white walls, and was holding a large, blue Ocarina. The Temple of Time she recognized from the altar he stood in front of, but could the instrument be the Ocarina of Time? He played a tune on it, a slow, almost sorrowful tune. "Remember this song, Zelda," he said. "You must remember…"

"Zelda?" Impa said. "Are you awake, now?"

Zelda was opening her eyes. Chub was gently pecking her cheek. She saw Impa's face with a background of wood thatching.

"Where are we?" Zelda asked.

"Kakariko. This is my house, Princess."

Zelda sat up and rubbed her eyes. Was she finally done dreaming? Normally, if she dreamt she'd come back to her cozy room at the castle, but they weren't there. She was sitting on a straw mattress in a wooden cottage. Books lined the walls of the house on shelves reaching up to the ceiling. She realized she was still wearing her dark colored leotard. Then she remembered what had occurred that night.

"Why… when did I…?" she started.

"As soon as I dropped the flash pellet you fell unconscious," Impa answered. "A vision?"

"Yes. We were fleeing the castle… and then Link taught me a song…"

"You'd best remember it," Impa said. "A song that comes in a vision is one not to be forgotten."

"Yes, I know. And it wasn't his ocarina he played, either. I think it was… Impa!"

"Yes?"

Zelda grabbed her satchel that was sitting beside the bed and reached in until she found the black box. She opened it and removed the green, leather-bound book inside, the Book of Mudora. Flipping through, she searched for the passage on the Ocarina of Time. When she found it, she showed Impa.

"The royal composers?"

"Do you know them?" Zelda asked.

"Know them? No. Sharp and Flat died before I was born."

"Oh."

"But, it does explain something. How are you? Do you feel like a stroll?"

"A stroll?"

They left the cottage and stepped out into Kakariko. It was a small farming village built in a valley. It looked very pleasant, though it was still very dark out. As they walked, it started to rain, which disturbed Zelda, but Impa didn't even seem to notice. Impa led Zelda out behind the house and down into the valley. They crossed under a hill in the midst of the village, crowned with a windmill, by means of a stone tunnel. Past the tunnel they reached a graveyard, uniform across the entirety of it and very foreboding.

In the front of the graveyard was a large stone that read:

"R.I.P

Here lie the souls of those who swore fealty to the

Royal Family of Hyrule

The Sheikah, guardians of the Royal Family and founders

of Kakariko, watch over these spirits in their eternal slumber."

"This cemetery is for the Sheikah and those who died in the Hundred Years War," Impa said. "Now, follow me."

Zelda followed her to the back of the graveyard. There were two gravestones in the back area beside a large headstone. The two smaller headstones read, "Royal Composer Brothers, Sharp the Elder, R.I.P." and "Royal Composer Brothers, Flat the Younger, R.I.P."

"What good does this do us?" Zelda asked.

"Look at this large gravestone," Impa said. "Royal Family Tomb," she read. "Prepared by the Royal Composer Brothers".

"And?"

"Don't you think it is odd, Zelda? Not once has a member of the Royal Family been buried here. Where was your mother buried, Princess?"

"In the Royal Tomb of Hyrule near the castle!" Zelda said.

"Yes. And if this were to be the new tomb, they would move the bodies of past kings here. Not one has been moved here!"

"Right. So…"

"So either this is a staging of the Royal Tomb, or…"

"Or something else is buried here!"

"Yes!"

"We must find out, Impa!"

"But, Princess we can't just go grave digging! How suspicious would that be?"

_That's true… _Zelda thought. _But there has to be a way…_

_What? Who was that?_ Someone else's thoughts intruded on Zelda's.

_Who?_

_Are you… a member of the Royal Family?_

_Yes! I am Princess Zelda Hyrule. Who are you, and how can you communicate with me?_

_I am Flat, the royal composer._

_Are you not dead?_

_Yes, I have shed my mortal coil, but was commissioned to wait for a member of the Royal Family to come and claim their right._

_My right?_

_Yes, if you are truly with the Royal Family, show your credentials. Prove that you are by a melody._

"Impa, play the Royal Melody!" Zelda said.

"What? Why?" Impa was scouting around the large tombstone.

"Just trust me," Zelda said.

Impa pulled out her ocarina and played the song she played as a lullaby for the Princess. As she did, the large stone began glowing. A lightning bolt came down out of the sky and crashed on the stone. The tombstone exploded, knocking Zelda and Impa backward.

"All right, I trust you," Impa said. As they came back to the area of the tombstone, they saw a hole in the ground where it had stood.

"Should we?" Zelda asked. Impa grabbed hold of Zelda and jumped down. Inside it was dark and damp and very cold. It smelled terrible.

All around Zelda heard whispers. _You have broken into the Royal Family Tomb. Beware the lurkers in the dark. Shine light on the living dead._

They walked forward through the tomb until they heard a loud, shrill scream. There, standing in front of them was the most terrifying sight Zelda had ever seen: the living dead. It was a thin, bony Hylian man, with only patches of skin in places, with a twisted and grotesque face. Zelda couldn't move. He shrieked again, only to scare Zelda more. Impa grabbed her and jumped over the zombie.

"Come, Princess! We must be of courage here!" Impa said, setting her down. She took the princess by the hand and ran, forcing Zelda to run as well. On either side of them were lines of these undead men. Finally, they reached a doorway and ran through. There was a door that they could close, and Impa did. She held it closed. "These creatures may attack!"

Zelda shook out of her fear. Impa was right, now was a time to act. She noticed a tombstone opposite the door. On it was some writing.

"This poem is dedicated to the memory of the

dearly departed members of the Royal Family.

"The rising sun will eventually set,

A newborn's life will fade.

From sun to moon, moon to sun…

Give peaceful rest to the living dead."

A musical staff was inscribed to the side of the poem, with a tune written on it. Underneath it were the words, "For the magic of the Royal Family."

"Impa! Come play this song!" Zelda said.

"What do you mean?"

"Here! I'll hold the door!"

"You cannot withhold several grown men who know no pain!"

"Then toss me the ocarina!"

Impa removed it from her neck and threw it to Zelda. Zelda caught it and began to play. As she played, she heard someone whisper. _The heir to the secret…_

Suddenly, the tomb began to glow. Brighter and brighter it shone until it exploded like the previous one. Zelda fell backward, but stood up and saw that where that tombstone had been was now a small, ornate chest. She picked it up and opened it. Lying inside the box, neatly on a cushion, was a large, blue ocarina, like the one from her vision.

"The Ocarina of Time!" Zelda said. "This has to be it!" Suddenly there was a beating on the door. Several beatings followed. Impa was becoming hard-pressed to continue holding the door. Zelda ran over to help. Bony hands burst through the wooden door, grasping at Impa.

"This isn't working!" Impa said. "There has to be a way to stop them!"

_Give peaceful rest to the living dead,_ Zelda remembered. _For the magic of the Royal Family._ She backed away from the door.

"What are you doing?"

Zelda played the song again on the blue ocarina. As she played, the hands stopped. They all froze. The beating stopped. Impa drew herself away from the door. Zelda stopped playing and the hands drew out of the door and they heard a thudding sound as each corpse hit the floor outside.

_Keep the Sun's Song in your heart,_ Zelda heard. _Now, we can go to eternal slumber…_

"How did you know all that?" Impa asked. "The Royal Melody, the Ocarina, all of that?"

"I was told. By the composers' spirits."

"Communicating with spirits? That sounds like…"

"What? What is it, Impa?"

"Nothing, never mind. Let's go back to my house and sleep."


	7. The Princess' Destiny

Author's Note: Sorry I've been falling behind. I got caught up in other things of late.

Where are Mudora's reviews? I see many a hit to my story. Doesn't that mean how many people have been looking at it? Why am I not getting reviews? Is Mudora that bad? Please tell me if my writing stinks! I want constructive criticism! Hmm… Oh well. Thanks to those of you who do review! I know I've got one or two regular R&R'ers (Rarawrawr…) and Mudora appreciates his readers!

So now to the main point: Why in Hyrule are Impa and Zelda in Kakariko! Well, it really brought the story in a direction you may not have expected, but it brings us a lot closer to the goals I have for Princess' Destiny. And I've already received word that _certain readers_ are intrigued…

Why wasn't the Ocarina in the castle? Well, it brought you an interesting and unexpected chapter, but it also incorporated characters like the Royal Composer Brothers and Redeads that I really wanted in here earlier than Link's adulthood. I felt the Sun's Song quest would be unnatural and unimportant to Hero's Path, but it is an excellent addition to Princess' Destiny and a nice introduction to the Ocarina of Time, or at least I feel so. On to the story!

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 7: **The Princess' Destiny

"Remember this song," Link said. He stood in the Temple of Time again and played the same sad song on the same Ocarina, which she now recognized as the Ocarina of Time. Zelda really tried to memorize the sound of it. Suddenly, the Door of Time behind Link opened, and there stood Ganondorf, holding the Hundred Years Peace Treaty. It burned in his hand, then formed three golden triangles, the image of the Triforce. Zelda's vision panned out of the Temple as Ganondorf laughed, then she saw Hyrule Castle Town. It was in complete ruin and the very zombies she'd seen in the tomb roamed Town Square. It was dark and gloomy, and in the background behind the Temple she saw Death Mountain burning. She now stood at the entrance to the town. The drawbridge was in shambles and pieces clung to the banks of the Zora's River. She looked down in the murky waters and saw a reflection. But it wasn't her reflection. The image she saw in the river was that of a man, whose countenance was hidden by bandages. One brown eye was visible through his long, blond bangs. In this eye she saw a weathered soul, born of years of war and trouble.

It wasn't Link, that much she knew. She vividly remembered Link having beautiful blue eyes, even in her vision of the man, Link. Something about this man in the water echoed the name "Sheikah". Yes, this man was not only a Sheikah warrior, but the very essence of the Sheikah arts. His eye, his hair, both were beautiful. The good part of him was visible. And all the fighting and death that he's dealt with was kept under bandage-wrap and remained a mystery to onlookers, only to be seen by his enemies. All this could be read just by seeing him.

Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he appear in Zelda's reflection, in the midst of all this pain and suffering? All this she wondered as she gazed at him for mere seconds, though it felt as though she'd been staring at him for years...

She awoke in her cot at Impa's house, suddenly. Light wasn't shining in, and Zelda remembered how late she and Impa were out the night before. A constant pitter-patter on the roof let Zelda know it was raining outside. Impa was cooking something in the oven.

"Are you awake, Princess?" she asked.

"Yes," Zelda said. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

Zelda sat up in bed. "Are we becoming nocturnal, Impa?"

"If we must." As Zelda pondered that statement, Impa said, "I've baked some bread."

She pulled a loaf out of the oven. "Let it cool a little, Princess, then we can eat."

As they ate their meal, Zelda relayed her vision to Impa.

"I have few answers and many questions myself, Princess," Impa said after Zelda had finished.

"What do we do?"

"What any Sheikah would do in search of answers. Meditate."

They left for the graveyard after eating.

"Why must we do this in the graveyard, in the rain, in the middle of the night, Impa?"

"The graveyard is peaceful, and home to many Sheikah, Princess. As for the timing, Dampe has gone to bed and will not disturb us. The rain is just untimely."

They went and sat in the graveyard, cross-legged. For once, Zelda took it seriously. The question was one she knew was most important to understanding the visions. Who was the mysterious Sheikah?

Then she remembered a part of her visions that had not entered her thoughts in the past few days: Sheik, the Sheikah. In previous visions, before the appearance of Link, Sheik was always saving Zelda from the horrors brought about by Ganondorf's treachery. Now he appeared in her reflection, as a Sheikah like Impa had before.

So was Sheik representative of Impa? Thinking back at the escape from the castle, and their adventure in the tomb, Zelda realized she had saved Impa from Ganondorf recently, not the other way around. But these things had happened since the appearance of Link. If Sheik was representative of Impa before Link, a guardian to Zelda before she could defend herself, why would he reappear in her visions?

Then it made sense, as she remembered possibly the most important part of the vision. Sheik was in Zelda's reflection. If Sheik was Impa, why would she see him as the image of herself?

_As time wears on, and my visions of Hyrule's future come to pass, Impa won't always be able to protect me, _she realized. _At some point, I must protect myself. Perhaps this Sheikah, Sheik, is the image of my own future as a Sheikah._

The reflection isn't her image, but her spirit. Her _true self..._

But she wasn't a battle-hardened Sheikah, she was just a little girl.

_"This is where many Sheikah fledglings spend whole years of their lives," _Impa's words resounded in her memory. _"You must find inner calm, and face your true self."_

How could young Sheikah face their true selves, when they haven't reached their full potential? They don't know who they are, because they haven't lived their lives!

_I may not be a true Sheikah, I may just be a little girl, but I haven't lived yet. I haven't reached the apex of my existance, my true self. I am Sheik._

Now there was only one way to test her finds. She made the shadow symbol with her hands and felt the energy channel through her body.

_I am Sheikah,_ she thought. Releasing the symbol, she felt something. Or rather, she didn't feel anything. No change. The energy, ki, didn't leave her. She still had it, without continually letting it flow through her body. She kept it inside her.

"Impa!" she said, and it dissipated. It didn't matter. She didn't have it anymore, but she had. She had kept the ki in her body several seconds after she had cancelled the hand signal.

Impa started from her meditation. "What is it, Princess?"

"I did it."


	8. Attributes of Shadow

Author's Note: Was that last chapter too boring? Especially for the finale of a major theme thus far in the story? I hope not. Anyway, let's try and make this interesting now, shall we?

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 8: **The Attributes of Shadow

Her opponent stood before her: Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Theives. Shadow symbol, her body became a channel for the element. Then she held it and mingled it with her own energy. He blasted the ground under her, but it was too late. She'd already leaped into the air and was preparing to come down on him. Drawing her dagger, she targeted the exact point on his neck where a smooth, effective kill could be made. She came down, but with a swish of his cape, he was gone. He hadn't dodged. Where was he?

A large, dark hand forced her own mask in her mouth, while the matching arm wrapped around her throat. He was suffocating her! She grabbed the back of his hand and his arm, and struggled to break free. He pulled her knife out of her hand and drew it to her neck. Was this it? No, she wouldn't give in this easily. She held tight to the arm with the blade, until finally she dropped her weight and swiped his ankles with her legs.

He wasn't on the ground, but temporarily off balance. She elbowed his gut and flipped him by the arm. With the shadow signal she jumped again and threw poisoned needles down at him. With another flourish of his cape, the needles scattered away from him. He raised his palm to her and flames shot out up into the air at her. Caught in mid-air, she had hardly any way to maneuver herself. The magic fire was coming...

Zelda awoke in a sweat in the middle of the graveyard. The rainy mist on her face was cooling her off. Behind the clouds, a young sun was beginning its ascent.

"Princess?"

"Impa," Zelda said awkwardly.

"A vision?"

"I'm not sure..." she answered, while she thought, _I hope not_.

"What did you mean when you said, 'I did it'?"

"I deciphered the vision," Zelda said. "And found that true self you talked about."

"At once?"

"The Sheikah is Sheik. And Sheik is me."

"Metaphorically?"

"Yes. I channelled energy and held it. And just now, I dreamt of using the shadow arts against Ganondorf."

"Well you'll never be able to do that until you know how to use the shadow arts. Come, we will begin at once!"

The two began the training Impa had set up for Zelda. It began with basic training in channeling. After about an hour, Zelda was able to concentrate enough to hold the energy for about ten seconds, which Impa said was a great feat for such an early learner.

After that, Impa began teaching her the uses of shadow energy.

"The first and easiest ability to learn from any element," Impa explained, "is manifestation."

"Manifestation?"

"Yes, bringing the element out of your body in it's truest form. First, channel."

They both made the shadow hand signal.

"Hold..." they released and held the energy, mixing it with their own.

"Now, you direct the energy through your arms," Impa said, extending her arms forward their full length.

Zelda did the same, and tried to figure out how to direct the energy. After a moment, she found it was quite easy and natural. All the energy she had taken in, she now felt between her elbows and palms.

"Got it, Princess?" Impa asked. Zelda nodded. "Good. Now, slowly force the energy out through your palms." As Impa said this, small black orbs appeared in her hands.

Zelda tried forcing it through her palms. The small shadows made by her fingers and the wrinkles in her palm grew darker, but nothing to the effect of Impa's orbs of darkness that even hovered slightly off of her palms.

Zelda released more energy at once and felt it all rush out of her uncontrollably. Suddenly, her entire hands turned dark and she lost all the energy she had saved. Her hands remained shaded for several seconds, and she felt a little weaker.

"That was a good first try," Impa said.

"It was nothing like yours," Zelda answered.

"Well you must keep in mind that I am much older than you, and am your sensei in the shadow arts."

"How do you do that," Zelda asked as she reached out to touch one of the orbs. As she did, she found they had no solid form. Her fingers disappeared in the dark sphere and grew very cold.

"Stop!" Impa said. She released the orb in her other hand and used the hand to smack Zelda's away. "It is very dangerous to mess with the element of shadow!"

"I thought you said it was the easiest for a Sheikah to learn."

"Of course it is." After Zelda's hand was no longer in the sphere, Impa released it as well. The two spheres hovered in the air for a moment until they faded away. "Because it is the foundation of the shadow arts. Originally, it was the only element Sheikah were familiar with, until Sheik in his later years discovered how to tap into other elements. That is why Sheikah know how to utilize shadow better than any other element, and that is also why they are called the shadow arts. The element of shadow is Sheikah. Very powerful, very dangerous, and very mysterious."

"Mysterious?"

"All the attributes of this shadow element aren't even discovered by the wisest and most powerful Sheikah, Zelda. You see there is no element of shadow without magic. It is only the absence of light. When an object blocks the path of the sun rays, shadow is there. Without light, there is no heat, thus it is also cold, which only exists as much as darkness. Thus, shadow doesn't exist. The element we refer to as shadow is almost more appropriately named **nothing**. It can chill the air, make things invisible, or..."

"Or?"

"If I were to cancel the orb with your fingers in it, your fingers would most likely disappear with it."

The gruesome thought of it made Zelda shiver.

"You see, as long as you remember that the Sheikah are shadow, you will know the essence of being Sheikah. Light makes shadow, and shadow exists because light exists. You cannot have one without the other. There is a balance that must be maintained at all times. Likewise, the Sheikah are a balancing factor to the forces of the world."

They took to practicing again. Zelda made the shadow hand signal and released it, holding the energy inside. She directed it to her arms and slowly forced it out of her palms. Again it just lengthened her shadows. She forced more out at once and the shadows grew larger and darker. She quickly lost reign of the energy again and her hands were covered in shadow. She began to feel weak.

"Is it supposed to take this much out of me?" she asked.

"It takes a mixture of shadow energy and your own ki to utilize the element, remember? Here, I brought along some magic potion. It will strengthen your spirit." Impa brought forth a bottle of green liquid, which Zelda drank.

"It is a concoction of the Sheikah. There is an old lady in the village whose family line has made all kinds of useful potions for the shadow-folk. She sells these family recipes for a hefty price to those who are not Sheikah, but will sometimes give them to those of us she believes will use it correctly."

Immediately Zelda felt strengthened.

"Now, Princess, you are having trouble with your manifestation."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well would you like to know what the problem is? Why you are working the shadow on your own body instead of manifesting?"

"Yes! How do you make those orbs?"

"You must put less of your own ki in your energy cocktail. When the shadow combines with your energy, it connects to you, but with out connecting at all you cannot control it."

"So I must find the perfect recipe?"

"Yes. You know if there were a pinch too much of a certain herb in that potion, you would not be feeling as good as you are now. It could even make you sick. Remember, balance."

Zelda nodded, and then got back to work. She made the shadow symbol, and released it. Taking careful note of the energy she expended to hold the shadow energy, she combined the two. As she started trying to direct it, her own energy went straight to her arms, but the shadow ki dissipated. The muscles in her arms tensed up and she fell forward on them.

"Balance," she said with a laugh. Impa nodded with a smile on her face.

The sun was now raised halfway to its apex in the sky.

"That's enough for today," Impa said. "Let's go rest up, and we'll come back this evening."


	9. Prophecy of Destruction

Author's Note: If you are waiting for the end of the story to review, you'll be waiting for a very long time! Or do you think Mudora's story is terrible? Let me know! I want to know if it's no good! Go ahead and review, readers! Mudora really appreciates it! Who knows, you may save an aspiring writer's career, or atleast the direction of a sad story. Please!

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 9: **Prophecy of Destruction

She climbed the stairs at the foothills of the east mountains, and stared down into Kakariko Valley. A dark cloud billowed over the sad town, pouring droplets of water as if to mock it. A few feet of the lowest part of the valley were submerged under water -- an effect of the constant rain falling in the valley. Looking up to her left she saw Death Mountain. A cloud of fire churned around its peak.

While busier than usual, the town carried an over-all tone of depression. Something terrible happened here. Winds pressed from the west, and her vision was obstructed by green fabric. She lifted a gloved hand and brushed the cloth out of her face. It was a floppy hat on her head. She looked down at herself and found she was an adult individual dressed in a green tunic, not too unlike Link's.

A bright light whizzed past her vision. She followed the swift flash and found it to be a fairy, floating near her like a guardian or companion. Suddenly she realized, she was the man, Link, who had appeared in a vision before. She stepped down in the valley, down to the water, as that was the only way to get where she was heading. Where was she heading?

As she dredged through the murky waters, she noticed rubble and bones floating or sunken all over the area, adding to the impression of some catastrophe that had occurred. She came up at an incline in the vale, and stood in an area with level ground above the water level. Right in front of her was the town well, but it no longer had its top, so water couldn't be drawn. But what water? The well was empty, except for the little bit of water build-up from rain. What had happened?

Staring up the slope ahead, she saw the windmill which drew the water from the well. She climbed the stairs to the mill and went inside. There stood a man with an instrument of some sort. It was a box, and when the crank on the side was spun the horn on top played music. She had to wonder at the control ability of such an instrument. Suddenly, the man spoke.

"It's all that Ocarina kid's fault!" he said. "Next time he comes around here, I'm gonna mess him up! He came in here and played a strange song. It messed up this windmill! I'll never forget that song!" He proceded to play a very happy tune on his instrument, which was strange due to the great problems he said came about by it. Zelda pulled out the Ocarina of Time, and decided to memorize it, as though she could prevent these problems from ever occurring...

Again, Zelda awoke to the smell of bread baking in her cot at Impa's house. She wore a robe that was much too large for her, remembering the night before Impa decided to wash her training suit.

"Good evening, Princess," Impa said.

"What time is it?" Zelda asked.

"About eighteen on the clock," Impa said. "Bread will be ready in a moment."

"Impa, every night I have visions now."

"That can only mean they are drawing nigh to passing. Why, every piece of your visions has come to light and begun their course. It seems only natural that-"

"Impa," Zelda interrupted. "Last night I dreamt that Kakariko was a horrible mess."

"Yes, Kakariko's depression has been in your visions before..."

"But I think it was brought about by Link."

"What?"

"I was Link, and I had the Ocarina of Time. And a man told me that a boy with a magic ocarina brought about all of Kakariko's problems with a song."

"Do you know who the man was?"

"A musician in the windmill."

"And do you know the song?"

"Yes. I memorized it."

"Then perhaps we should ask him about it," Impa said.

"That's a splendid idea, Impa!" Zelda said. "Oh, but I can't be seen around here, can I? The entire Royal Guard is looking for the both of us, right?"

"No one here believes I would kidnap you, Princess," Impa said. "And they would give their lives to protect me. But if they believed I had kidnapped you, I would lose this entire village for acts of treason."

"So..."

"So we will disguise you so that you will not be recognized."

Impa went out and removed Zelda's clothes from the line hanging between Impa's house and the next. She used the art of leaping to reach the line, because it was so high in the air. After Zelda dressed, Impa pulled out the roll of bandaging material Zelda had used previously to mask her identity. Impa made an excellent disguise with the material. A mask that came halfway up Zelda's face, gloves and shin coverings, and topped it off by wrapping her chest to flatten it. By the end, Zelda looked like a mysterious young Sheikah boy. Finally, Impa took red paint and put the Sheikah eye symbol on Zelda's wrapped chest.

Zelda put her own touch to it by hiding one eye behind her bangs, the longest hair she had.

"Absolutely marvelous," Impa said after Zelda viewed herself in a mirror. "Now you need a name."

"That's easy," Zelda replied. "Sheik."

They left the house and Zelda started to walk to the mill, when Impa stopped her. "Wait, Prin... Sheik."

"Yes?"

"We will train first. Then take care of your vision."

"Yes, sensei."

"See, your already playing the part of a humble apprentice."

Training turned out to be something Zelda didn't want to be a part of at all. She sat cross-legged on the clothesline, meditating.

"This is an exercise of balance. If you can master this, you will hopefully attain some level of inner calm, allowing you greater control of your own ki."

Zelda fell off several times before she started getting control of herself even slightly. All she could think about was her vision and the horrors that would visit Kakariko, on account of the boy in whom she had put the trust of Hyrule. Every time that thought entered her mind, she would lose all concentration and fall, only catching herself on the wire every other time.

Finally she sat to meditate and as the thought entered her mind, she brushed it away. It came right back and she forced it to the back of her mind. It returned once more, and she sought courage and fell.

That's when she realized, whatever comes upon Hyrule, she and Impa would meet it together. And whatever troubles come to Zelda, she always has Impa to help her through them. She was able to balance cross-legged on the wire with this thought in mind for about eight seconds. At that time, the thought of Link becoming one of those troubles crossed her mind, and she fell again.

"Impa, this isn't working," she said.

"What do you mean? You managed almost ten seconds that time. No fledgling Sheikah can do this for extended periods!"

"I cannot focus until I know the truth."

"Very well. We will go and see."

So the walked to the mill. Along the way, they received several strange stares, but not a one of the people they passed recognized her. They all believed her to be Impa's male apprentice. If there's anything Sheikah knew, it was how to make a disguise, Zelda decided. She had never felt this much liberty, to walk the soil among the common people. All her life there was a big fanfare if she were to so much as walk across Hyrule Castle Town to visit a noble, accompanied by Impa and several guards.

Finally, they reached the well, and the mill behind it. Climbing the stairs to the mill, they went inside and found a man standing inside. It was the same musician, with the same strange instrument, but he looked younger in the face.

"Go around! Go around!" he sang.

"Excuse me sir," Impa said, "But my apprentice has a question or two for you."

"Yes?" He stopped his instrument and singing.

"Have you met a boy with an ocarina?"

"Not that I know of..."

"Oh. You haven't heard any strange, magical songs?"

"No. Can't say as I have. Maybe if I heard it..."

"Hmm..." Zelda said. She pulled out the Ocarina of Time and quietly played the tune she learned from her vision.

"What's that? Sounds nice..." the man said. Then all the machinery in the mill started moving super-fast. "What's going on! It's going way too fast!"

"Impa! It's happening!"

Impa and Zelda ran outside, to find rain pouring hard and fast, and the well quickly emptying.

"No!" Zelda shouted. "No!"

She was the boy with the ocarina. She was the one who messed up the mill, and eemptied the well. She was the one who brought destruction to the village...

She started to cry. What had she done?

"Zelda, you mustn't cry," Impa whispered as she held her close. "We can work this out. This isn't your fault!"

"No, Impa. It is. It is! I did it..."

Impa forced her to resume her training, but this time on the wooden beam-top of the well. Zelda felt as though she was being mocked, but realized if she lost her balance she would be extremely hurt. So she forced herself not to think on her dilemma. But the more she didn't think of it, the more it came to mind. It was much easier to balance on a wooden beam than a clotheswire, but she couldn't concentrate. And why should she have inner calm? She had just destroyed a community! Link wasn't the one who brought this on the people, it was their princess, the future leader of the people.

No, that wasn't true. The future "leader" was Ganondorf. He had already declared himself king in his own mind, and was one of the strongest willed men the world had ever seen. Also, Zelda herself had prophetic dreams of his reign. Hopefully she could keep it from happening. But she had a vision of this, too.

This had to be in the goddesses plan.

_What do you want from me?_ she thought. _Why did you want me to do this? To become the enemy of the people?_ No. She was no one's enemy. No one knew it was her, but Impa and the musician. Impa would keep her secret. Impa knew the truth. And the musician would grow to hate Sheik, not knowing her true identity. The enemy was Ganondorf still. And Link was still the savior.

That's right. If Zelda had caused this trouble to Kakariko, Link was still an admirable hero to the people, and would have the people on his side. _Everything happens for a reason? _she thought._ All my visions are to pass? Then why did I have to drain the water supply?_ She realized the only answer would come from a vision, or a search of the well itself.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and she began to feel drowsy. The constant beat of rain on her body ceased, as if her whole body went numb. And her consciousness started to slip...


	10. The Eye of Truth

Author's Note: Why did Zelda discover the Song of Storms? Another quest that didn't fit the "direction" I want to take Hero's Path, and Zelda receiving a vision of the future kept the almost mysterious origin of the song in there. Plus, I currently hold the idea in my stories that the only magic songs are those played on the Ocarina of Time, as you will soon find out. Anyway, I need to stop before I seriously cross the spoiler line for my own story! Ready? Set? Let's go!

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 10: **The Eye of Truth

Time was flying by fast in front of Zelda. A man was going about his days in his home: eating, getting ready, picking up some artifact and leaving home, then later he would come back, set it down, eat again and go to sleep. Every day it was the same, over and over, until time came to a screeching stop, or so it seemed, but it actually slowed to normal time. A man entered the now aged man's house. Zelda looked at the table where the relic sat, and payed attention to its detail. It was a red lens of some sort, surrounded by a purple handle crafted to look like the Sheikah symbol. The lens layed next to a long wooden box.

"My time is coming swiftly," the old man said to the younger. "And the eye of truth must not pass into the wrong hands."

"What does that mean? I came to tell you that there is a massive amount of water underneath your house! If you would move to a new location, we could make a well, and this terrible drought could be over!"

"I am dying, not of thirst, but of age." The old man opened the box on the table and revealed a beautifully designed dagger. "I must die with honor. Carry on the tradition, and hide this lens, the greatest treasure of the Sheikah, in my burial place." The old man stabbed himself in the gut, tilting the dagger upward behind his ribs, and fell to the floor, bleeding on the carpet...

Zelda awoke from the gruesome dream with a throbbing pain in her head. She rubbed it and looked around herself. The ground was damp, and above her was a tunnel leading straight up to the purple sky above. She looked all around and found nowhere to go. She had fallen in the well! No way out, she backed up, trying to see more above her. Where was Impa? She tripped on a rock or a root or something and fell backward to the wall. But she fell _through_ the wall. It wasn't even actually there! Beyond the wall was a tunnel, lined with stones with names of famous Sheikah. She recognized several names from the Book of Mudora.

She heard a voice in her head. _Look for the eye of truth..._

Where was it coming from? Were the dead directing her again? If so, she should follow. Last time she followed the dead, she was led straight to the Ocarina of Time.

She hurried down the path until she came to a dead end. Hoping with everything she had that the wall was fake she slammed right toward it, and charged right through again. She was now in another room. There was about two or three inches of standing water, which she walked through around the room. It was circular around a caged-in room with more tombs. Finally, on the back section of wall, she found a sign that read: "The one who will see the truth, play the song of the Royal Family".

Zelda knew the song of the Royal Family, the song Impa played for her as a lullaby. The only way Zelda would agree to take ocarina lessons was to learn the beautiful song Impa played. She put the Ocarina of Time to her lips and played the notes that put her to sleep every night for eleven years.

The water on the floor slowly drained into nothingness, and she noticed a nearby pit that had been filled with water. It drained, and she looked inside. The pit went down about five feet and there was a door. She hopped in and opened the door. Beyond was a thin tunnel she squeezed through. She couldn't help but make a repulsed sound as she passed through, with all the bugs creeping on either wall. The tunnel started getting smaller and smaller, until she had to crawl on her belly through the tiny, bug infested tunnel. Then it finally opened up to reveal a large cavernous room. She stood up and walked into the middle of the room.

When she did, she was grabbed around the waist by long-fingered hand attached to a long, pale arm that sprouted from the ground. She shrieked in terror, as a face sprouted up from the ground in front of her, devoid of eyes, ears, or tongue. Its mouth was gaping open, revealing its sharp, rotted teeth. It continued coming out of the ground until a neck followed behind. The face tilted down to face her and the neck drew it back. It made a strange hissing sound, and snapped forward. Zelda broke the grip of the hand and rolled away from the head. Both receded into the ground. Zelda ran back to the tunnel, only to find the dead hand sprout up out of the ground in front of her, blocking her exit. It snatched her again, and she heard the head come out of the floor again. She felt its cold breath on her neck, and broke the hand's grip again. She dove out of the deadly creature's area, and the large body parts receded into the ground again. She couldn't leave now, so she'd have to fight. She drew the dagger she kept in her belt.

The hand came up again and grabbed her. She let it. If she attacked the arm, she would wound the creature. If she struck the head, she could destroy it. She waited for the head to come up and draw close. It drew its head back, and she sliced the wrist of the hand. It released as the head lunged forward. She ducked down and slashed the neck. It wailed in pain and dropped into the ground.

Zelda wished Impa was here to fight for her, but now she was alone, fighting her own battles, as she should be. Impa need not fight for her, though Impa could use the shadow arts. But why couldn't Zelda?

She ran around the room to keep the hand from pinpointing her. _I'm in this well because of a vision,_ she thought. _This is where the goddesses put me. They sent me a vision to empty the well, and another to put me in it. There is something here I need. If it is the will of the goddesses, I must oblige. They know best and will take care of me._

At that moment she realized none of it mattered. The well, the creature, her own life. Everything happens as the goddesses wished it to. So why should she worry? If the goddesses were on anyone's side, it was Zelda's, not this monster's! It would have to work out.

The hand grabbed her and the creature's head appeared. The slice she made to its throat seemed to have no real effect. No blood, and the creature functioned just fine. The scratch was hardly even visible against its pale skin. She would have to remove its entire head atleast!

She could only think of one thing to remove it completely, instantaneously. She freed her hands as the creature tilted its head down to face her.

She formed the shadow hand signal, then broke it, careful to put a small amount in it, but more than last time. It drew close. She put her hands beside eachother and extended them fully forward, willing her shadow energy to her arms. Then she forced the energy out as the creature drew back. She released, and two pitch-black orbs stuck together emerged from her palms. She relinquished control of the energy and grabbed her dagger again as the creature lunged forward.

She blocked its bite with her dagger, propping its mouth open with it. It stopped completely for a moment with the dagger in its jaws and the orbs encasing its neck.

_Perfect, _Zelda thought. As the orbs faded, so did that portion of the creature's neck, and the head fell to the ground without so much as a sound. The hand let go of Zelda and the entire creature burst into a blue flame and incinerated.

Winds began circling the room as Zelda picked up her dagger, pleased with her new-found ability. _What now?_ she thought. The winds grew tighter and tighter, circling the center of the room, until a chest appeared in the center of the room. The air calmed. Zelda was now curious as to what was inside the box after all the commotion of its arrival.

She walked to it and opened it. Inside was the lens from her vision. _Was this all a test for the Sheikah treasure?_ she thought. If so, she was pleased that she was accepted as its bearer. She picked it up and looked through. Nothing strange about it. It just made everything red.

_All this for this? _Zelda thought.

She stuck the lens in her belt and crawled back out. She climbed out of the pit through the door, and into the circular room. She went around looking for the spot where she entered, but didn't see it. She put her hands against the wall and went around until she fell through the wall into the grave-lined hall she had walked through before.

Finally, her curiosity got the best of her, and she pulled out the lens.

"Something spoke to me about you here," she said, as if the lens was listening. "Can you see it? Can you see the truth?" She looked through the lens and saw strange, incandescent forms floating all around the passage. Each one had a face.

"They-they're ghosts!" she said. She ran down the hall at the strange sight. Seeing the forms was much different than speaking to them. As she ran, she still peered through the lens and didn't see the wall she first passed through again. She came right back to the well area and put the lens in her belt again. Impa dropped in next to her.

"How did you get down here?" Impa asked.

"I fell."

"You weren't here before!"

"Are you saying I'm lying?"

"Of course not!" Impa grabbed Zelda and jumped out of the well with her.

"Impa, look at this!" She pulled out the lens and started to gaze through it once again. What she saw greatly disturbed her.

All over the valley were those bright forms, going across from one slope to the other. All of them were much smaller than the ones in the well, and they seemed to be marching from the graveyard out to Hyrule Field. As she caught sight of this image, a hum began in her head, that turned into a loud screeching sound. She dropped the lens, and everything turned blurry. Her legs grew weak and she fell to the ground as her consciousness slipped away again...


	11. Prophecy Delivered

Author's Note: Okay! We're back! Sorry this chapter is delayed. I'm trying to keep the story chapters of Hero's Path and Princess' Destiny alligned, especially for this chapter! Any questions? No? Let's get started!

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 11: **Prophecy Delivered

A dark cloud billowed over the fields once again. The vision was happening was once more. Rain began to fall on the grassy plains. A Gerudo army came marching from the east. The spirits Zelda had seen in Kakariko came from the west and dropped into the ground. From the ground sprouted the Stalchildren, who joined the army of Gerudos. At the front of the lines was Ganondorf. The formidable army marched to the gates of Hyrule Castle Town. The gates were closed to the outside, but that didn't stop them. Ganondorf shot a ball of fire at the wooden gate, and it immediately shattered into small, burning pieces...

Link came to the now restored gate and revealed three jewels-the Spiritual Stones. He hurried into the city and to the Temple of Time. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time and paused.

"How do I play the song...?"

Now she saw Ganondorf, standing atop Hyrule Castle, with a black crown upon his head. Zelda watched as the sun rose and set seven times. And then the entire castle crumbled under him, bringing him under the wreckage. The statues of the three goddesses came down to Zelda, and surrounded her again.

"We know that you now trust us, Zelda the seer,"the goddesses said. "We know what you have done for us. Now do this for you. Go." Zelda saw out in the castle courtyard, a passage through rock. "See the Great Fairy. She shall give you more of our power. Now do this for us. Go to the evil man, Ganondorf. Go see him and say to him, 'Seven days, and your kingdom shall end'."

"Just seven days?"

"Tell him..."

A drop of water on Zelda's head woke her. She was laying her head on Impa's lap, and they were in a cold, dark place. The floor was hard, wet stone, as were the walls. When Zelda saw the one barred wall, revealing a passage of the same stone, she realized where they were.

"Impa, how did we get here?" she asked. "Why are we in the castle dungeon?"

"The guards came to Kakariko just after you fainted. I couldn't resist the Royal Guard. I gave in. But it turned out the guards who came were under the control of Ganondorf, as is the whole castle!"

"Oh no. It's happened. He's taken Hyrule!"

"No. The citizens are still putting up a fight. All he's taken is the castle, and that only by his dark magic. But even his dark magic has limits."

"Not if he gets the Triforce, Impa. His power will be limitless! That's why it is so important we... Impa?"

"Yes?"

"Where is the Ocarina?"

"Here." She revealed in her hand a shadow-manifestation orb. "They thought it was just my last defense. Take it." Zelda reached into the void and willed her hand to grab, though it was too numb for her to tell if she had. She pulled out and found the Ocarina was in her hand.

"What about the lens?"

"Lens? The glass you brought out of the well?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. I haven't seeen it since you fainted. What was it?"

"The eye of truth. A Sheikah relic..."

"That allows the user to see the invisible, yes! If Ganondorf has it..."

"Just more power at his disposal. We have to get out of here."

"Not yet, Princess," Impa said.

"What do you mean?"

"I have grown weak from maintaining that shadow manifestation."

"I thought it was the easiest of the shadow arts."

"But I've held it the entire time you've been asleep, Princess. I've held it for three days! By the end, I had expended all but a small portion of the shadow energy by diluting it more and more with my own. I am too weak."

"What's going on in here?" a woman's voice asked. A Gerudo woman walked over to their cell. "Oh. Given up the manifestation, have you?"

"How does she know about the shadow arts, Impa?" Zelda asked.

"Gerudo scum!" Impa retorted.

"Oh, what a wonderfully generic insult. I expected more from a Sheikah," the Gerudo said. "Anyway, I have orders to take you to see Ganondorf now."

"No!" Zelda said as the Gerudo opened the door. She picked up Impa, who appeared too weak to even walk straight as the Gerudo took her out and locked Zelda in again. They disappeared out of sight, but Zelda heard their footsteps faintly falling for much longer.

She had to do something. Ganondorf knew they were up to something now for sure. After all, his men discovered them hiding out in Kakariko Village with the eye of truth. Now he was having Impa carried away to him, too weak to fight. There was obviously some bad blood between the Gerudos and anyone who took the Sheikah oath.

How could Zelda fight such a powerful sorcerer? She had the Ocarina of Time and a small amount of Sheikah training. Speaking of the Ocarina, she had to conceal it before the guard returned. She looked herself over. Somehow, she was dressed in a white gown instead of her training clothes. She had to hide it with manifestation, or just in her hands. Unless she escaped and rescued Impa. How could she escape? She looked around and found absolutely nothing. She felt around the walls, hoping one was fake. A futile effort and she knew it. Then she noticed a barred window up high on the wall, the light of the setting sun was shining in.

She jumped and climbed on the bricks as best she could with the Ocarina in her mouth. She fell back down several times, but her determination kept lifting her to her feet and finally up to the window. She grabbed hold of two vertical bars right next to eachother. She looped her arms through and put them together in the form of the shadow symbol. She channeled the energy and broke the symbol. She grabbed hold of the bars again and directed the energy into her arms. Then she forced it out slowly to her palms, building manifestation spheres as tall as the bars. Then she released them, and the spheres faded, along with the two bars. When they were gone, she crawled out.

She was right above the narrow moat around the castle. She jumped out and grabbed the opposite stone ledge of the moat. She pulled herself up and looked around. The drawbridge into the castle was closed. No way in there. Besides, if she walked through the front door she would end up getting caught by all the guards inside anyway. She didn't even want to think of what would happen if Ganondorf caught her sneaking in to the castle after sneeaking out of her cell.

He was too powerful, but she remembered something he didn't have: the power of the gods. She remembered the passage through the wall in her dream. She had to see the Great Fairy. She reached out to Impa with her mind. _Impa..._

_Yes, Princess? I'm fine. You be strong._

_What are they doing to you?_

_The Gerudos are mocking me. Holding a trial on account of kidnapping you. The penalty if I am "convicted" will be death._

_Don't worry. Stay strong. I am coming._

_No, Princess, they are too strong._

_I have a plan._

Zelda cut off the connection. Impa didn't want her to do it. Impa didn't think she _could._ Impa was probably right. But Zelda had to prove her wrong.

She started off, out toward the gate. Two guards were posted there. She knew she couldn't be seen, but she had no choice. The guards gave chase, but very slowly. They were stumbling toward her. She turned and heard them growl. Most guards don't growl. Ganondorf had done something to them.

She jumped behind a tree in the outer courtyard, when she thought she would successfully lose them. She realized with all the guars around there had to be a way to make it harder for them to see. All she could think of was nightfall or some serious weather. When weather crossed her mind, she remembered the song she played in Kakariko that dried up the well. Could it help her? She began to play the cheerful little tune, until lightning struck in the courtyard. Clouds moved in over the entire city and a heavy downpour instantaneously started.

Zelda got up and hurried through the rain in the direction she knew the passage to be. The rain kept getting harder and harder, until it kept her from seeing very far ahead easily. _Perfect_, she thought. Now the guards couldn't see either.

Hoping she was still going the right way, she came across several landmarks that she had noticed in her vision. Finally, she reached a wall of rock where she had hoped to find the passage. But she didn't. She followed the wall to the right for a while, but didn't find anything. She put her hands on the wall to keep her right next to it and walked back the other way. She went farther and farther until she couldn't feel the wall anymore. She saw it, but when she touched it, her hand went right through. _It isn't really there!_

She walked through and found herself in a white, stone room the entire place had a strange glow to it. At the far end of the room was a small, shallow pool of water. In front of the pool, the Triforce was painted on the floor.

_The crest of the Royal Family..._ Zelda didn't know whose voice entered her thoughts, but recognized what it meant. She played the song of the Royal Family, the lullaby she had played in the well. The faint sound of laughter filled the room. Zelda stopped playing and looked around. It grew louder and louder, until a woman flew up out of the pool, laughing. She had bright red hair and a tunic of leaves. She stared at Zelda.

"Welcome, Princess of Destiny," the woman said. "I am the Great Fairy of Magic. You have come on behalf of the goddesses. I will give you the magic of Din, goddess of power."

The room grew much brighter, until finally everything grew very dark. Zelda could make out the still pool, but the fairy was gone. She turned and left, wondering what magic she had now received. She came seeking power and found the blessing of Din. What was it?

She stood in the courtyard again, but the rain had grown lighter. There were several guards in the area, and they all looked at Zelda at the same time. She heard a shrill scream come from every direction at once. The guards stumbled toward her. She would run, but she was surrounded. One guard reached her first and grabbed her arm. She looked into his helmet and saw a terrible face. Twisted and grotesque, all she could compare it to was the creatures she had seen in the Royal Family Tomb. Could it be? Had Ganondorf made the Royal guard into an army of the living dead?

She kicked the guard off her and ran out of the circle of others. When she had made a good distance, she started playing the Sun's Song she had learned in the tomb. Light shone through the clouds and pricked each and everyone of the guards. They froze and fell to the ground. Each and every one.

_How could he? _Zelda thought. Ganondorf would stop at nothing to reach his goal. She ran back to the castle, hoping the Great Fairy's magic had allowed her enough power to stop Ganondorf.

She had to conserve energy. She wouldn't barge through the front door. She ran around the side of the castle, looking for a way into the inner courtyards. She found a drain on the side, obviously from one of the fountains in the courtyards. She put the Ocarina in her mouth again and jumped and climbed through the drain. As expected, she came out in the inner courtyards. She remembered where her own window was, where she had left her chamber all those nights ago. She ran to it. The courtyards were not being watched at all. She climbed in her window and found everything just as she left it.

She was soaking wet. If she even tried to sneak down the hall, she could be followed by the trail of water she left behind. Her nicest dress was still sitting on her bed from when she last changed in this room. She took off the white gown and dried off with the bedsheets, then put on her dress and searched Impa's drawer of Sheikah items. She found some more flash pellets and needles, but not much else. She stashed them in a sack and opened the door.

_Impa, where are you?_

_Don't come, Princess!_

_I promise I'll get you out. I've come so far and have received greater power from the goddesses. _She really hoped that pulled through.

_I'm in the throne room, _Impa answered.

The hallways were lightly guarded, only six or seven Gerudos circulating the passages routinely. She waited for just the right moments when no Gerudo saw her to make her way from door to door, her ultimate goal the throne room. Finally she reached the staircase and the double doors. There was a Gerudo guard with a spear at the door who saw her coming.

Zelda opened the sack as the guard rushed down the stairs toward her and threw a needle at her. The needles were almost as long as Zelda's forearm and sharp on either end. She tossed it like a dart and hit the Gerudo's spear hand. It stuck straight through her hand and she fell to the ground screaming. Zelda ran up the stairs preparing a flash pellet, when she remembered the goddesses words.

Ganondorf was sure to be in there. _Seven days..._

She cracked the door open and peeked in. Impa was four meters past the door, staring at the throne on her knees. There were Gerudos on either side of her holding her. Ganondorf sat on the throne staring back at Impa.

"Who's there?" Ganondorf asked when the door creaked.

There was no turning back now. The Gerudo on the stairs wailed loudly and the two guards by Impa let go and turned to the door.

"Seven days, Ganondorf," Zelda said loudly. "Seven days and your kingdom shall end!" She thrust the door open and threw a flash pellet to the ground, turning her head away. The Gerudos, Ganondorf too, couldn't see a thing. Zelda ran over to Impa and started to drag her out, but by that time they could see again. There were more guards inside than Zelda could see. There were guards lining walls on either side of the throne room. Every Gerudo jumped at Zelda and Impa as Ganondorf shouted.

_Goddesses, what do I do? _Zelda thought as everything happened in slow motion before her. This was the end. All the women bared their weapons, and Zelda knew she couldn't get them all with needles even if she had enough. She dropped on top of Impa, as if to shield her. _Din, where is your magic?_

Suddenly, a force came over her like that of channeling energy, but much stronger. Her entire body was burning with energy she wasn't even controlling. She felt all she could do was release a shout of anguish in the strange and powerful sensation. As she released a high-pitched scream, she also released a wave of intense heat all around her, burning all the Gerudos.

All the women cried out as their entire bodies caught on fire. _What has happened? What did I just do?_ Zelda thought. She stared down at Impa, but Impa was unscathed. She looked up at Ganondorf. He had no burns either.

"You..." he started. Zelda started to pick up Impa, but she hopped to her feet alone. Impa grabbed Zelda and leapt right out the door. Ganondorf came charging right behind.

Zelda was being led by Impa's hand as she ran down the halls. Startled Gerudos weren't swift enough to act as Impa dashed past. Ganondorf was pursuing just as fast as Impa was running. Zelda wondered where Impa was going, or if she even had a plan. They ran to a spiral staircase that led up a tower.

"Impa..."

"Hush!" they started climbing until, several stories up, they stopped at a stained-glass window. Impa punched the glass out and peeked through. She tossed Zelda out and Zelda started screaming. Impa jumped after her and they fell toward a rooftop below.

There was a square hole in the slanted roof, and Impa and Zelda both fell right through. Under the hole was a large amount of hay, which Zelda landed in and jumped out of the way for Impa to land in. The stables was where they now were. When Impa landed, she grabbed Zelda's hand again and rushed over to a horse. A white horse already ready to go. Impa set Zelda on the saddle and she hopped on as well. Ganondorf crashed through the roof and landed on the dirt floor. He got up as if he hadn't taken such a terrible fall. With a quick snap of the reigns, Impa's horse was off through the courtyard.

Even in the midst of all this, Zelda wondered what she had done to burn all those Gerudos. They were coming up on the castle drawbridge. She felt it again. The super-powerful energy channeling through her, and her arms thrust up toward the door as of their own will. Waves of flame shot out of her hands and incenerated the wooden gate. The white horse leaped over the moat and ran down the path. A black armored horse hopped over the water shortly after. Its rider was the Gerudo King.

They rushed through the outer courtyard and out down through the town they were rushing straight toward the city gates now. The gate was closed for the night. How could they escape?

The gates, as if by the desperate wishes of Zelda and Impa, started opening as they approached. It was completely open by the time they reached it, and ran through without difficulty. Ganondorf was gaining, but was still afar off. As they crossed the drawbridge, Zelda saw Link. He was just standing there, surprised at the sight.

Had he done it? Had he collected the Stones? Then he was the only hope now. They were riding away from Link, who was staring at them, perplexed. Zelda took the Ocarina of Time and held it close. She hoped he knew what to do. She threw the Ocarina to him it flew through the air, farther than Zeelda even knew she could throw. It went right over his head and into the Zora's River.

_No,_ thought Zelda. _If it washes downstream, there's no telling where it will end up!_

Too late now. They were gone. Over a hill and out of sight. They were drawing near Lon Lon Ranch. They were out of the storm's cloud. They kept going farther and farther, not knowing where they would stop. Zelda just hoped Link could pull through...


	12. Opposing Energy

A/N: Ri2, what do you mean? (Re:"I thought they were already grown up") Perhaps you are confusing my stories with other novelizations?

No, you will know when Zelda grows up. But that's a good way down the line. We'll be "briefly" covering the whole seven years while Link's away! But that's not yet. Now is hiding. Just remember Princess' Destiny and Hero's Path are being posted parallel to each other. This chapter you are about to read is parallel to Hero's Path Ch. 18.

Would it help if I said which chapter each was parallel to, or gave days? (like day 1 is when Link "finds" Navi and Zelda meets Ganondorf) I actually have my own personal timeline record to keep everything straight. Should I post that on my profile? Please review, everybody, and tell me how I can help work out confusion!

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 12: **Opposing Energy

Zelda stood in front of Link. They were floating in the sky again, but both were children. Link no longer bore his sword and shield, or his pack, or any of his belongings but his clothes and his ocarina. Zelda held the Ocarina of Time. "Link, play this song in front of the altar in the Temple of Time." She played the slow, sad tune she first learned from Link in her visions. Every note begged Link to remember, to play it just right, to enter the Sacred Realm and stop Ganondorf. Link began playing it now, just right...

Zelda awoke on the floor of the southern woods, something she had never seen with her own eyes. Not until last night. It all came rushing back to her. The prison, Impa, the guards, the Great Fairy, the rain, Ganondorf, the fire... What had happened to Link? She wondered that Ganondorf never caught up to them after they passed Link. They never even saw him after it. Ganondorf must have seen Link.

Zelda finally decided that whatever happened was at the will of the goddesses. Link had to be fine. Zelda was sure he was their chosen hero. He had to have triumphed by now.

"Good, you're up," Impa said.

"Why, we need to get moving again?"

"No. We're deep into the woods now. Ganondorf will never find us, even if he is still actively searching."

"You don't think he is?"

"I am unsure."

"A lot of unexplainable things happened last night..." Zelda started.

"It's alright, Princess," Impa said. "You have no control over that magic yet."

"I don't think I opened the drawbridge, where Link was."

"The goddesses were on our side, Zelda. That is all that matters."

"You were incredible, Impa!"

"I suffered much from it, too. But we will not worry over that. I am mostly better now."

"That is good."

"Yes. Now we will meditate."

"Meditate on what?"

"It doesn't matter. The Sheikah will meditate in the mornings to clear his mind. Then we begin training."

So they spent the next half hour in meditation. Afterward, Impa began to teach Zelda once again.

"From what you have accomplished, and what you have told me, it seems you have a small mastery over the manifestation of shadow. Now we will move to the next step."

"What is that?"

"Everything depends upon balance, Princess. If you are unbalanced, you cannot succeed. This is especially true for a Sheikah. We cannot deal solely with shadow energy or we will slowly become shadows ourselves."

"Literally?"

"No, it is not like that. Allow me to tell you a story. The Gerudos used to be a very peaceful people, very involved in artisanry and they became great warriors as well. But one Gerudo left the sisterhood and joined Sheik's school under Death Mountain. She began learning the attributes of shadow with her peers, but became impatient. She spent every waking hour training to become the best with shadow energy, even hoping to out-do Sheik himself."

"Did she?"

"No. When Sheik learned of her underhanded study, he told her she needed to spend some time with other ki. She became upset, saying he didn't want her to be better. Over time, the shadow energy had eaten at her soul and made it very dark. She challenged him to prove she wasn't better. They dueled, and Sheik won. So she left to return home and train harder, swearing she would one day beat Sheik. She never got to. He started getting old and weak. She found it to be a false victory if she were to win because he was aged. So she began teaching other Gerudos what she had learned. That is how the Gerudos know how to sneak around in the dark like they do. Their thievery goes back to the time when they stole from us, the Sheikah."

"Is that why the Sheikah hate Gerudos?"

"Yes. And Gerudos were never accepted as Sheikah again."

"Well that was a nice story. What does it mean?"

"It means there is an extreme, and it must be prevented. Shadow is the easiest substance to conjure, but it can ruin you even to the heart if you do not have balance. Now you must learn the opposite, parallel energy. Light."

Impa made a hand signal very different from shadow. Zelda tried to mimic it, but Impa had to help her. Once she got it, it seemed quite natural. Once it was right the energy came over her, channeled through her. It was warm and comforting, bright and cheery. It felt so good it almost made her sick.

"Alright, break it and mingle it with your ki," Impa instructed. Zelda did. "Now hold it as long as you can."

After a little bit, Zelda could hold it as long as she could shadow energy.

"Now we will attempt a manifestation," Impa said. Zelda went through the steeps with Impa, careful of how much of her own ki she used. When she released it through her palm, an orb like the shadow manifestation appeared, but instead of being dark and cold, it was very bright and warm. Zelda found she could not look at it directly, as it hurt her eyes. It was like holding the sun in her hands, warm and bright. And yet at the same time, it was much less solid than the sun appeared.

"Congratulations, Princess," Impa said. "You're well on your way to becoming a Sheikah warrior. Most Sheikah don't get to manifestation until they are atleast fifteen."

"You're always talking about Sheikah as if there are many still around, Impa."

"There aren't nearly as many as there were before the war, but they are still around. Just because you don't see them..."

"I see."

"Many have gone into hiding, some even to other lands. There were so few practicing Sheikah left in Kakariko that I had to open it to the public in order to keep it alive."

Zelda played with the light manifestation for a little bit before she released the light energy and it faded.

"You'll find that light is another of the most powerful energies, Zelda," Impa said. "But it is much harder to control than shadow."

"Why is that? I thought you said shadow didn't actually exist, so wouldn't that make it difficult?"

"Difficult to understand, yes. But it is foreign to this land, so it will stay with you until it fades. Light, like so many elements in Hyrule, has a natural place in the world. As you use it and maintain it, it will be naturally drawn to order. It will take more to hold onto it for that very reason."

"But, Impa. I thought light was everywhere. It's natural place can be anywhere, can't it?"

"Not necessarily. True light comes from the sun, and so its natural place is wherever the sun sends it. There is light that comes from fire as well, but in order to make full use of that you will need to learn the proper use of that element."

"It sounds like this is very complicated."

"Magic is very complicated, Princess. Only sages, witches, and skilled sorcerers can use it properly. The shadow arts are a way to bi-pass the natural rules of magic and give common people its power. It's para-magic. In order to get around the normal rules, which are much stricter but less complex, we must follow a very different set of rules that are less binding but there are many more of them."

"I see... I think. So can you make use of fire and mind-speaking like I can?"

"There is a way to control fire in the shadow arts, which you will learn soon enough, but I have never heard of a telepathy like yours. That sounds more like the dangerous elements used by Gerudos."

"Dangerous elements?"

"We'll get there soon. Now is not the time. Come, let's practice with light manifestation some more."

So they spent a while longer using the light energy and Zelda began growing stronger in her manipulation of the energy. Later in the day, Impa went out and hunted animals with Sheikah needles. She brought back a couple of rabbits and prepared them over a small fire. They ate and went to sleep when the sun had set.

**Remember to review! (see top)**


	13. Seven Bursts of Lightning

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 13:** Seven Bursts of Lightning

The entire earth shook as lightning struck the ground. A deep, dark cloud swept over Hyrule and rain poured on the land. Lightning struck again and Zelda saw the Door of Time in the Temple of Time open. Bright, golden light came rushing out, and a silhouette of a man came walking forth. The man came into view as Ganondorf with the mark of the Triforce on his right hand and a large grin on his face. Lightning struck again, and Hyrule Castle Town crumbled, and dead Hylians sprouted from the wreckage. Again, and all of Hyrule was shrouded in darkness. All the horrible things Zelda had seen occur in her visions before came about. Again and the rain became fire falling on the land. Lightning struck a sixth time and the armies of Ganondorf, a mix of Gerudos and the undead, met an army formed of the peoples of Hyrule. After a long and horrible battle, the dark army of the evil king emerged victorious, leaving the corpses of Hyrule to rot on the field. Lightning struck a seventh and final time and another silhouette came walking from the Temple of Time...

Zelda woke on the floor of the forest again. It was dark still. How long had she been asleep? She woke Impa.

"What is it, Princess?"

"I had a terrible dream. Seven flashes of lightning, and all of Hyrule was destroyed."

"The number seven again. What was it you told Ganondorf? Seven days?"

"I'm still waiting to see what happens in the next five. It was a prophecy the goddesses told me to give him."

"Well, Link arrived last night. Perhaps it has something to do with that?"

"Impa, I had a vision that Ganondorf got the Triforce!"

"Why would the goddesses tell you that he will get the Triforce?"

"Because he will! Or maybe... maybe he'll only get it if we don't go back and stop him!"

"Zelda, you're talking crazy. Neither you, nor I, nor you and I have the power to stop him."

"But you, I, and Link..."

"Princess... Fine, but if we are seen inside of the kingdom we'll be caught and killed. We must do this Sheikah-style."

They saddled up Impa's horse, Chrysa, and rushed to Kakariko. They hid Chrysa and hurried into Impa's house, where Impa dressed Zelda in the guise of Sheik again. Impa herself wore a mask and hood and after gathering Sheikah equipment, they made for Hyrule Castle Town. A dark cloud swirled above it once again.

When they arrived, they found total chaos in the streets. The cloud was formed by smoke from burning buildings. Ganondorf had raised the dead guards once again, and they, along with a Gerudo detachment, were trying to subdue an army of Hylian citizens. Zelda couldn't help be reminded of her dream.

"Impa, those people will lose!" Zelda cried.

"Then we must help them!"

Impa led Zelda into a nearby building and they climbed the staircase to its flat roof. Impa and Sheik both prepared needles and began throwing them at lone guards, wiping out dozens of soldiers. Finally, they each threw a flash pellet in to Town Square, and in the seconds while both sides were blinded, they jumped in and took down a couple Gerudos.

"We won't be able to force back the armies like this!" Zelda said.

"We'll give it all we've got!"

"Impa, we need to get to Ganondorf!"

Sheik and Impa fought alongside townsfolk. Each of the Sheikah held a dagger. Impa had taught Zelda to defend herself with a small blade long ago, but she wasn't used to fighting enemies with it.

Impa spun her dagger around with such style. Zelda wished she could be like Impa. She would swipe down, spin it into a hanging position and slash up, jab, strike, anything you could do with a dagger she did. Soon, the apprentice became more comfortable fighting, but prefered striking down the walking dead over the female warriors.

Sheik started trying to make his way toward the path to Hyrule Castle Town. He started to draw close, and made a break for it. As he drew close to the gate into the courtyard, found it was closed. There was no way in. And now guards and Gerudos surrounded him.

_I'm not supposed to be here,_ Zelda thought. She couldn't stop Ganondorf herself. The Gerudos pounced at her with their swords and spears in the air. The downside to Zelda's guise was that she was dressed as the Gerudos' mortal enemy. Child or not, they knew the young Sheikah boy was a capable fighter.

_Goddesses, forgive me,_ thought Zelda. _I have gone beyond what you have asked! Please, this cannot be the end!_

She felt a familiar, powerful energy come over her, channeling through her. It burned inside her, and all she could do was release it through her whole body. All the Gerudos and guards burned from the intense heat wave that rushed from Sheik's form.

She ran from the burning, wailing bodies, wondering how the goddesses could use her to commit such a vile act. She returned to the battlefield and unsheathed a dagger, fighting her way to Impa's side again.

Soon, they saw a figure appear in the town. A young boy wearing green and accompanied by a fairy.

"Link!"

"Pri-Sheik! Don't stop fighting!" Impa grabbed Sheik and jumped up to the top of another building. They prepared daggers and went down again fighting Gerudos and living dead.

Suddenly Sheik broke away from the fight and hurried to the Temple of Time. She couldn't help her urge to face Ganondorf, and he would be there if he was to get the Triforce before Link. She found all three Spiritual Stones sitting in their designated spots on the altar and a piece of parchment laying on the altar with it. Upon closer examination, she found it to be a piece she recognized, torn out of the Book of Mudora. It was a song written in the old form of musical writings. She also found shattered clay laying all around the altar. Something had happened here, but it wasn't what was supposed to. The Door of Time was still shut.

"Thank the goddesses," she whispered. She hurried back outside to find Link fighting his way to the temple. She leapt back into the fight and began attacking a guard, who was trying to bite her. She cut its head off soon, and saw Link hurry into the temple. She wanted to see what happened, but was having a hard time getting back to the temple. Then she saw the last person she wanted to: Ganondorf. He strode up to the Temple of Time and entered.

"No!" she shouted, but she couldn't get there. She was surrounded by the dead guards who grabbed hold of her and forced her to the ground.

They started biting her and sucking blood out. She felt it. She felt her very life force leaving her. It seemed as if eternity passed as this occurred, until she realized her own energy was in her blood. Her spirit energy.

She forced her hands into the signal of light and felt the energy enter her body. With what ki she still had, she mingled it with the light. As the corpses continued to draw her life, their teeth suddenly jerked out of her skin and all of the guards surrounding her fell to the ground.

"Shine light on the living dead," she quoted. She clapped her hands together and stumbled away to the Temple of Time, a safe haven from all the fighting.

She entered to find she was too late. The Door of Time was open. She entered the room beyond, surprised it wasn't the bright light she had seen in her vision. She found a stairway leading up to a pedestal with the symbol of the Triforce on it. And nothing else. No Link. No Ganondorf. Whatever had transpired here, she had missed it, and now they were both gone.

She fell to the ground and started to slip out of consciousness. Lightning. Impa entered and found her, bloody and torn up, lying on the floor of the temple. Lightning. They were exiting the temple, Zelda in Impa's arms. Lightning. They were leaving town and the Stalchildren started to attack. Lightning. Impa hurried back to Kakariko and put Zelda on the horse. Lightning. They were riding up Death Mountain, away from all the conflict below. Lightning. High above, they saw a dark cloud billowing over Hyrule. Lightning...

Zelda awoke in an alcove on the mountain. The sun was now high in the sky above. Impa had fixed a meal of rations she grabbed in Kakariko. Zelda's body was covered in bandages for the sole purpose of healing, not disguise.

"What...?"

"You were torn apart."

"I know, the guards, but..."

"I got the people to retreat to an underground, hidden point in the city. By now they've escaped to other villages in the country."

"And we're on Death Mountain?"

"Yes. Out of reach. So far, no word has been heard from Hyrule Castle Town."

"Not even Link?"

"No. Ganondorf and Link haven't been seen or heard from. But it hasn't even been ten hours, Princess."

"Ten hours is little time for other things, not the unnatural disappearance of two major characters in my visions. You saw. The stones, the song, the door was open! For all we know, Ganondorf obliterated Link and has gone to the Sacred Realm. Or they both have and one killed the other."

"We just don't know, Princess," Impa said. "The goddesses can work this all out. But we can't. Eat and get your strength."

Zelda ate and was forced to go to sleep by her attendant, who promised her more training in the morning.


	14. Pieces of a Plan, Part 1

A/N: **IMPORTANT: **Mudora here. crowds start cheering his long-awaited return The plans have changed. Mudora will do a few more childhood chapters, but skip ahead to Zelda's adult life. But don't get disappointed! Mudora would be dumb if he didn't include the seven years, so his plan is one of which he feels is creative, informative, and will hold interest much better. If he has the skill to do it…

Mudora feels this chapter is gonna be a good one. Oh-ho, is it gonna get fired up now. Yes, this is the climactic three-part event of Zelda's childhood. Prepare for some Sheikah battles, shocking discoveries, dark magic, and a big surprise ending that will have you... Ok, now Mudora's getting ahead of himself (and quite corny). Let's just get started.

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 14:** Pieces of a Plan, Part One

"In a land beyond sight,

The sky shines gold, not blue.

There the Triforce's might

Makes mortal dreams come true."

The poem she had read in the Book of Mudora came to life in a voice. It's sound lit the sky bright gold, and the source of the light was three golden triangles, sitting atop a ziggurat.

The ziggurat was perfect in every way. No jagged edge, no ridges. A perfectly symmetrical pyramid with stairs leading up it.

A cloaked traveler climbed the steps to the top of the structure. It reached with a gloved hand and touched the Triforce…

The land, also without hill or bump of any sort, suddenly disappeared, and all that remained was the golden sky. The statues of the three goddesses returned to surround Zelda in the sky. They spoke in their singular voice.

The image that radiated green, symbolic of Farore, floated in front of her. "Princess Zelda, you have done well to come so far." The statues spun to show the blue one, Nayru, floating in front of her. "Your wisdom has kept you alive for the past several days." Next, the red image of Din floated in front of Zelda's face. "You have come along way from the girl you once were, the girl you believed yourself to be." Again Farore faced her. "Your guardian has served you well, but now we present you as a guardian." Finally, the statues stopped to show Nayru. "Protect that which is precious to me."

The images of the goddesses swirled around her and raised high above. Everything grew bright. Zelda raised her hand to shield her eyes, but saw great light emitting from it as well…

Zelda awoke in a crevice on Death Mountain. The world was back to normal. The sun was perched upon its peak in the sky, preparing for a descent. Zelda raised her hand, and saw that it was bandaged and not glowing. However it felt quite warm. She untied the bandage and saw the mark of the Triforce on her hand.

"Good morning, Prin…" Impa started, but stopped when she saw Zelda's hand. "What is that?"

Zelda raised her hand to show Impa, without speaking.

"How did…"

"I had another vision. I think I know what it means. This is the Triforce!"

"But you must obtain it through touch, Princess! Perhaps it is just a mark of the goddesses."

"They told me to protect that which is precious to them. That would be the Triforce!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Do something! Wisfor that we have so long fought for!"

Zelda was startled for a moment. She was so caught up in the idea of protecting it, she hadn't even considered wishing. Finally she knew how to verbalize it. She stretched out her hand and said, "Great goddesses! Grant that Hyrule may be returned to peace, a peace for which much blood has been shed! Grant that the evil that pervades this land be removed, and the countenance of the world may be lightened forever more!"

They waited a moment as Zelda held out her hand. Nothing happened. They waited a little longer. Still nothing. They stared out toward Hyrule Castle Town and saw yet another building go up in smoke. It hadn't worked. They stood and pondered for a moment.

"There is but one thing a Sheikah can do in a situation such as this," Impa said.

"Meditate?"

"Yes."

So they sat cross-legged for a good deal of time, thinking on these things, but could come to know answer. Finally, the sun began to set. They started getting very hungry, and so they ate a small meal.

"It seems we are getting nowhere for now, Princess," Impa said.

"Yes, I was drawing a blank."

"Perhaps we should let this pass for now, Miss Zelda, and concentrate on your studies. Let us leave the works of the goddesses to the goddesses for now."

"Yes. That sounds reasonable." Zelda realized just then that had Impa said something like that even a week ago, she would retaliate and cry about the great burden the goddesses had forced upon her. She truly had grown much in the past several days.

They did some physical exercises, supposedly to help get the ki flowing, then practiced manifestation of light and shadow. Zelda found these to be much easier now, and even to be able to last much longer holding them. After about a half an hour, Impa allowed each of them a drink of green potion and they prepared for something new.

"You have been introduced to the shadow arts," Impa said. "You have learned about balance, of light and shadow. You have even become quite strong in your ability to use manifestation for someone so young in their training. But now, you are ready for the meat of study. To move into the more common and even more useful of a Sheikah's skills. We will now study the use of the elements."

"Elements?"

"Yes. You have learned of light, the pervading substance of the world; and you have learned of shadow, its polar opposite. Now you are ready to learn those elements which have no distinct opposite. Those which exist to compliment and compete, to compare and contrast to each other at once. We will now study the elements."

The elements were four distinct facets of the earth: fire, water, earth, and wind. Impa taught her a different hand signal for each, and they practiced manifestation on each of these for twenty minutes at a time.

Zelda found these to be difficult to learn at first, but as they went felt they were even easier to manipulate than shadow and light. She mentioned it to Impa.

"Yes, these are minor in comparison to the power of shadow and light. And yet, they are more nimble elements than the stronger two. There is more you can do with them than simple light and void, yet their abilities can't match the strength of the primary elements.

Finally, when they were both exhausted, they ate another small meal in the middle of the night.

"Are you ready to turn in, Princess?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could meditate a little longer." Zelda was sure Impa would be overjoyed to hear those words from her mouth. But she really wanted to figure out the mystery of the Triforce.

"Excellent idea," Impa smiled. They went to meditating immediately. Shortly after, Impa had an idea.

"Perhaps…" Impa started. "Perhaps that book of yours will say something."

"But Impa, we left that in Kakariko!"

"I stopped in my house on our way up here. I grabbed rations and a few other items, including the book." She reached in a pack and pulled out that black box.

Zelda took it, opened it, and pulled out the Book of Mudora. Impa made a small light manifestation for the princess to read by.

She skimmed through, stopping at every section involving the goddesses, the Triforce, and obtaining it. Impa meditated as she did so. All along the way, she found no leads, but her mind started thinking of other things. Such as the recurring number three. There were three goddesses, three golden triangles, three Spiritual Stones… and three key players in Zelda's visions. So if the Triforce is three pieces, and each piece is representative of one of the goddesses, and there are three major characters in the future of Hyrule…

"Impa, I think I may have found something," Zelda said.

"Read it."

"Not in the book." Impa gave her a strange look.

"There are three goddesses, three Triforce parts, and three key people in my visions of the future. So, if Ganondorf reached the Triforce before Link, what is one thing the goddesses could do?"

"Break the Triforce into three parts… and give only one part to Ganondorf when he touched it!"

"Precisely."

"Congratulations, Miss Zelda. You have shown much wisdom in your studies. Perhaps we should sleep now?"

"Every time I've slept ever since Ganondorf arrived at Hyrule Castle, I've received a vision. Perhaps another one tonight will clear up this whole matter."

With these words, the two Sheikah took up blankets and fell asleep in their crevice in the mountain.


	15. Pieces of a Plan, Part 2

Author's Note: This section of the story's getting boring… there are a lot of these boring sections… Mudora knows! He'll re-write the whole story! Heheh… just kidding. Not after that long wait he gave everyone. One day, perhaps, but not yet. In the mean time, let's spice this up!

Isn't a three-part "season premier" cool? No? Shut up. I mean, review! Please, review.

**A Princess' Destiny**

**Chapter 15:** Pieces of a Plan, Part Two

"Princess, you are worthy of your title, as the goddesses' chosen daughter."

Zelda stood in the sky with the goddesses once more.

"Your wisdom is exceedingly great. You have solved the riddle of the Triforce."

"There is so much I don't know, though" Zelda replied.

"Your knowledge is what we give unto you, destined one. Here is the answer you seek. When one with a pure heart touches the Triforce, they gain the True Force."

"True Force?"

"The full power of the Triforce, the ability to have any desire of your heart granted. Those who touch the Triforce without a pure heart, with a heart stained with evil, they do not gain the True Force. Instead, the three golden pieces separate. That greedy individual only gains one part, the part they most believe is worth all their trouble. The other two pieces go to those who have been destined to protect them. You, with the wisdom you've shown for such a young girl, and with the ability to keep secret, were chosen to protect the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Triforce of Wisdom?"

"Yes. The three pieces of the Triforce each are the pure essence of one attribute. An attribute of each goddess's choosing. Nayru admires the wisdom people can exercise if they so choose. Farore admires the courage our creation can show when facing things they do not know. And Din finds the power to act a most intriguing trait in those we've created. When Wisdom, Courage, and Power are brought together again, that is when one can make use of the True Force despite their wicked intentions."

"Does that then mean that one without a pure heart has taken the Triforce?"

"Yes. The depraved man, Ganondorf has entered the Sacred Realm and taken our most valuable gift."

"Then what has befallen Link?"

"The young boy with the fairy will never be seen again in your lifetime. You must move forward and prepare for what lies ahead."

Zelda had so much more to say, to ask, but couldn't. She had choked at these last words. The goddesses began to speak again in their single voice once more.

"Now, you must go. Little time remains before you will be unable to do what we ask now. Go back and retrieve that which was lost. The gift we gave you in Kakariko. It is of utmost importance, as what lies briefly ahead will require you to have this item."

The world started growing bright once more…

Zelda awoke atop Death Mountain again. It was a dry morning, and the smell of smoke was faintly rising to their camp. The winds had turned and the cloud over Hyrule Castle Town was rising and heading up Death Mountain.

Impa was meditating at the edge of a nearby gorge. Looking down, Zelda could see that a recent eruption had occurred and there was much rock still cooling in the gorge.

Impa rose from her concentration. "Princess, I am having trouble understanding this saying, of the Triforce.

"So was I, until I had a vision. The goddesses explained all to me." Impa listened attentively. "They say Ganondorf touched the Triforce, and that those as evil as he is only obtain one piece of the Triforce. The other two go to those the goddesses have chosen. Each piece has a certain attribute that a certain goddess picked. One is power, one is courage, and the other is wisdom. I have in my possession the Triforce of Wisdom. Ganondorf surely has the Triforce of Power. Impa, the goddesses told me that Link…"

She couldn't say it. She wouldn't. It would only mean she would have to believe it. And she couldn't do that either. But Impa knew what she was going to say. She held the princess close as she wept.

"It's my fault Impa," she said. "I sent him to his death. I knew better!"

"Princess, you did not do this. You were planning to go yourself instead of him. Various circumstances caused things to change. The only one we can blame is Ganondorf. And we will see that he receives justice."

"Impa, do you think that he has the Ocarina? Link had it. It's the only way to open the Door! Impa, with its magic and the Triforce's added to his own…"

"Princess, we shall see, soon. The goddesses are obviously on our side, and that is a power he can not obtain."

Impa always knew how to make Zelda feel better, even if it was only small consolations.

"Impa, the goddesses say we have to go back, to obtain the thing the goddesses gave me again."

"What would that be?"

"The Ocarina of Time is with Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm. It can only be the eye of truth. They told me I would need it."

"Then we must go, Princess!"

They suited up in Sheikah gear, fed the horses and hurried down the mountain. When they arrived in Kakariko, they found the people busily working together, rushing to and fro. Impa asked someone what was happening.

"The survivors from the battle in Hyrule Castle Town retreated here, and we're planning an attack against that man's armies now."

"This does not have the approval of Impa," Impa said. "I do not recommend you continue with this plan. There will be much fewer survivors in a second fight. Especially when you are planning offense against a stronger opponent."

"We must get revenge for the dead bodies in the streets!" the man cried and ran off.

"This does not bode well," Zelda said.

"No. It does not bode well at all, Sheik. Let us hurry. We will need what cloud cover is left over the city to sneak in."

After they had ridden down into the valley and out the gate, they rushed their horses to a gallop across the field to the town. The drawbridge was now in shambles, and they had to dismount and hide the horses.

"We cannot afford wet feet for stealth," Impa said. She grabbed one chain that once carried the weight of the drawbridge and pulled it close. She had Sheik begin climbing as she held it taut. Once her apprentice was safely on the wall, she began climbing herself.

The clouds didn't darken the sky as much as they had two days ago, so the two Sheikah had to choose cover very carefully. Gerudos rigidly patrolled the streets, but they saw none of the cursed Royal Guard. Presently, a Gerudo came marching across the wall. They were in a good deal of shade, fortunately, but soon the woman would see them. She turned her head momentarily, and they took that second to bound to a nearby rooftop.

They ducked out of sight and waited. Impa appeared to be listening for something, but Zelda heard nothing. Finally, Impa said, "She has passed, let us be moving."

They took off to another roof, but were nearly spotted by a rooftop-sentinel. They ducked behind a chimney. Impa led Sheik to climb down through a top story window and into the house.

It was a stone building, but had obviously been burned out. In one corner, Zelda saw a cucco that had died burning. She remembered Chub, Link's gift-pet to her. With no occurrence to consider what fate had befallen Chub, she dreaded the thought that this cucco may have been another child's pet, or gift.

They hurried through the house to the opposite wall and Impa peeked out the window. After a moment, she motioned for Sheik to come and they jumped across to the next building window.

They continued this in silence until they reached the limits of the city. The building they were in now leaned against a cliff about twenty feet taller than itself. Impa led Sheik to the roof of the building and stopped at the opposite end from the cliff.

Impa took every dagger they had, stuck them between her fingers, and clenched her fists. She ran at the wall and jumped at it. She kicked off of it to gain some more air and slammed her fists into the wall. The daggers stuck in, holding her in place. She released the daggers and pulled herself the rest of the way up.

Sheik ran at the wall, jumped at it, kicked off of it, and grabbed two daggers stuck in the wall. Impa pulled him up and silently congratulated her apprentice. She hung from the cliff and pried the daggers free of the wall.

They hurried along the top of the cliff to the top of the gate. The castle courtyard was surprisingly lightly guarded. They snuck into the castle area, and found the gate still vacant from Zelda's fire magic. They hurried into the inner courtyards and into the castle itself.

Nothing. That is exactly what they found. No one was inside the castle as far as they could tell. They started searching frantically around the castle for the lens until their search led them to the throne room. Certainly, if Ganondorf kept it there, he would have kept it on his person. They cautiously opened the door. Inside was not what they were hoping to find.

The Gerudo woman known as Talia sat at the throne. She jumped slightly as the door opened, but resumed her lounge when she saw who it was, obviously an attempt at intimidation.

Zelda was offended by this blatant disrespect of the Hylian throne, and was about to say something, until Impa took initiative.

"That is not your throne, Gerudo thief," she said.

"And where is its rightful owner?" Talia scoffed. "That fool of a king, Daphnes, has disappeared…" Zelda was offended again at this insult to her father, but glad to hear he had not been confirmed dead as of yet. "… and my lord has been missing three days now. My elder sister has been reported dead, thus making me, Talia, the second daughter of Ganondorf, rightful heir to his throne."

Zelda had plenty to say, but could not afford to blow her cover by saying it. Fortunately, Impa had similar sentiments.

"The throne you sit upon is not yours, nor is it your thieving father's. That throne belongs only to King Hyrule, and will not so easily be taken."

"Then shall one fight for this throne?" Talia challenged.

"What is the point?" Impa replied. "Your father will be returning soon, with more power than all three of us combined. He will take the throne again. And when his time is up, Hyrule will be lifted of the stench of you foul creatures. However, if you would kindly hand over the object in your belt…"

Zelda hadn't even noticed. Resting in her belt, Talia had the eye of truth.

"Why is it important to you, Hylian lapdog?"

"Because, that object is a Sheikah relic much to precious to be given to swine like yourself."

"I like it. It is pretty, and I stole it right from under my father's own nose."

"It couldn't be that hard. You Gerudos have noses that could shade half your miserable pit of a kingdom."

"That miserable kingdom is now an empire, Sheikah worm. An empire that rules you and your people. If I recall, you must swear fealty to the king of your realm. Swear to me."

If there were a proverbial straw that broke the horse's back, that was it. In a split second, Impa lunged forward, bearing three daggers, two in one hand. Talia grabbed something at the side of the throne and swung it in a high arc. It was a Gerudo saber. She blocked Impa's offense and rose calmly to her feet. She grabbed a second sword leaning against the throne and forced Impa back.

"I hope Gerudos aren't the only ones who remember the Sheikah laws, Impa," Talia said. "Let's see, what was that one? Don't fight in a rage? You'll do yourself harm, Sheikah."

She struck with one sword and Impa blocked with all three knives. Talia brought up the second sword in a low strike, and Impa could not defend. She sliced with her daggers in a manner that pulled free the engaged sword. It fell upon the other, deflecting the attack. Zelda cheered in her heart. She couldn't allow herself to utter a word. Her voice could be recognized.

Impa did a back flip, and threw one of her daggers at Talia. The Gerudo deflected it with her saber with ease.

Impa charged forward with both daggers thrust out before her. Talia prepared herself in defense. Before Impa reached her, she somersaulted over and turned to strike at her back.

Talia was ready for this. She swung around with her sword and knocked one dagger free from Impa's hand.

Impa rolled to the side and jumped up. The dagger and sword clashed with equal force. Zelda could tell it was straining Impa greatly to compensate. Finally, she released and pulled back.

"Sheik, we must finish this quickly!" Impa said.

"Sheik?" the Gerudo spat. "What a wretched name!"

Sheik rushed in behind and pulled out a couple of daggers. Zelda knew Talia was much stronger than she was. Sheik threw a dagger at Talia's head. He knew she'd dodge. It flew past and Impa caught it.

Talia turned to face Sheik. She raised her saber to strike and Sheik raised his dagger in defense. The blades met, but the force caused Sheik to lose his weapon. He fell to the ground as Talia stood over. Zelda could only think of one thing to do. She made the hand signal for fire and felt the burning energy run through her. It was similar to the sensation she felt when the fire magic ran through her, only less potent.

She released the signal as Talia swung down at Sheik, and intertwined the energy with her own. She forced it into her arms as fast as she could, and released a fire manifestation orb, right in Talia's face.

Sheik rolled aside just as the saber hit the ground. Talia freed one arm to clutch her face, and turned as Impa charged again with two daggers. She raised her sword in defense and waited for Impa to jump. But she didn't jump. She crossed her arms and placed a dagger on either side of Talia's blade, then cartwheeled in the air.

Talia's arm bent a direction it didn't want to go, and she released her weapon. Sheik did a sweeping kick and Talia fell on her back. Impa lowered her daggers at Talia's throat while Sheik pulled the lens free of her belt.

"I hope the Gerudos remember Sheikah laws better than that, Talia. What was that one? Watch all opponents at all times? Or was it, 'Don't get in over your head'? Either way, you lose, thief."

They left the throne room while Talia clutched her face and cried in defeat. She knew she couldn't recover by attacking again, and that burn left her in terrible shape.

They began sneaking back out again, and made it back into the city without incident. Surprisingly, Talia hadn't called the Gerudos on them. Impa quietly explained that Gerudos were too proud to have their countrymen win battles they could not. And that Talia's face would need some medical attention before she could hunt them down herself.

As they made their way through the city the way they had come, they noticed several Gerudos making their way toward the Temple of Time, leaving their posts behind. Curious to find what the commotion was about, they secretly followed. At the temple, the Gerudos were congregating into a mob, chanting and cheering. Impa and Zelda stared in shock. It was too soon. They were not ready. Now they were stuck. From the open threshold of the temple strutted Ganondorf. He had his hand raised high and it glowed brightly. The symbol of the Triforce was upon it, and a smirk spread across his face.

He laughed in his terrible, maniacal way, and everything started fading…


	16. Pieces of a Plan, Part 3

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 16:** Pieces of a Plan, Part Three; Culmination of Events

An eerie fog arose from the well. It covered all the ground of Kakariko Valley. The mist fled every powerful footstep the Gerudo King landed. An army followed behind him. They passed the well, and through the tunnel under the windmill, right into the graveyard. Two almost spectral figures flew over him into a cave upon a high cliff. Ganondorf raised his hand mightily, revealing the symbol of the Triforce on the back of it. As though being pulled by his iridescent hand, he rose up to the entrance of the cave and entered…

Impa stood before Zelda now, and played a song on a harp. A sad tune, very dark. It seemed to carry with it the sound of a funeral or a sorrowful goodbye. And yet it interested Zelda enough to memorize it…

Zelda awoke to find herself inside the house where they had spied upon Ganondorf the night before. Impa was watching her intently, taking few breaks to look up to the window over Zelda's head. Zelda didn't remember why they stayed the night, nor even falling asleep.

"Impa, why…"

Her attendant quickly shushed her. "They're right outside," she whispered.

Zelda sat up and turned to look out. Ganondorf was still at the Temple, and was making a grand speech. All she could make out from this distance was something about the Triforce and Kakariko. Her thoughts turned to her vision.

"You fell unconscious the moment you spotted Ganondorf, so we had to stay here," Impa explained.

"Then the vision…" Zelda started. "Impa, Ganondorf is marching on Kakariko. I believe it will be soon."

"Yes, he's been holding something of a pep rally out there for a while now. They went back to the castle over night. I wonder how things went when he saw Talia… Oh my, Princess! This is my fault! He thinks he'll find me in Kakariko and avenge his daughter's scar!"

"The scar was my doing, Impa," Zelda reminded. "But I don't think he's going to find anyone in particular. In my vision he went to the graveyard, to a cave on a cliff."

"The Shadow Temple," Impa said. "There are kept the bodies of great warriors from the Hundred Years' War, from every side. It is a shrine to the goddesses, as are the other temples in Hyrule, but its altars can be desecrated for his evil intentions easily!"

Zelda noticed a small, portable harp leaning in the corner of the burnt out building. It appeared only lightly licked by the fires. She walked over to it, somewhat unconsciously.

"Princess?"

Zelda picked it up and played the sad, sorrowful tune she had heard in her dream. Impa listened intently until Zelda had finished.

"That song sounds somehow familiar, Princess," Impa said. "Where did you learn it?"

"From you. In my dream last night."

"A dream that vivid must…" Impa stopped and listened to the sounds carried on the air. Ganondorf wasn't speaking, but the crowd was cheering.

"What is it Impa?"

"Shush. Do you not hear that?"

"No, I don't," replied Zelda, quietly.

"The voices… they are of those rousing!"

"What are you talking about?"

Ganondorf's army was on the move now, and soon Ganondorf stood at the gate. He raised his marked hand and skeletal children rose from the ground. Such a thing had never occurred in sunlight before. Zelda was amazed at the power Ganondorf now held.

The skeletons joined the Gerudo army as they forded the moat and marched on toward Kakariko Village.

"Impa, it's happening!" Zelda practically shouted.

Impa was covering her ears. "That song, Zelda! What was it? It has opened my ears to the voices of the dead children!"

"Impa…" Zelda watched her bodyguard in her pain. After a moment, she removed her hands from her ears. "They are far enough away that they will leave me in peace now," Impa said. "Mostly. We must make haste to the valley of shadow, Princess! Things are transpiring too fast!"

They leapt from their window and ran through the now vacated streets of the ruined town. Hurrying out to their horses, they saddled up, and rushed back to Kakariko.

A fog rose from the well, covering the ground of Kakariko valley. The mist fled every step the horses took. Zelda caught sight of the army marching into the graveyard. Impa covered her ears again.

"We are too near, Princess! Look around at the spirits!"

Zelda pulled the lens from her belt and peered through. Spirits flew all across the sky, as they had before. Occasionally one would fly into the shrouded ground and rose in a skeletal form. The spirits of the children were rousing. Their king had come.

Zelda dropped from her horse and shook her head violently with her hands.

"Go, Princess! Their voices carry so much grief! So much pain and loss! They were children! Children!" Impa's voice was high and loud now.

People started coming out of houses. Crying and screaming was audible from inside. Mostly men revealed themselves while women and children hid from the horrid sight.

"Impa, what is it?" one man asked.

"The grief! The anguish! Why can Ganondorf not let them rest on the other side!"

"That evil man has cursed her!" he decided. "Let us go!" The men arranged themselves and rushed to the graveyard. This wasn't right. Something horrible was about to happen now, and Zelda knew it. She rushed to Impa's side.

"Go!" Impa shouted. "Stop this, Princess!" Zelda started to run, but Impa stopped her. "Miss Zelda! Hide your clothes! He cannot know yet!"

Zelda took a quick look at herself. She was wearing her Sheikah leotard, but no bandage mask. She rushed into the nearest house and put on a white night gown to cover her Sheikah clothes.

When she came out again, the sky was covered in the cloud that had risen from the well. Dark magic was about. She saw two figures scream by in the air toward the cemetery. It was time to hurry to stop Ganondorf from doing whatever he was doing.

Her body had been tempered by Sheikah training. Her legs stretched to their limits as she rushed for the graveyard. When she arrived, she saw a battle waging, men's dead bodies falling atop their forefathers'. This was not how it was supposed to happen.

She spotted Ganondorf near the cave entrance. Dampe the grave keeper stood in his path. He held his shovel in defense. Ganondorf raised one hand and backslapped the old man at the base of his jaw. As she ran toward him she heard bone crack and saw the grave keeper's head turn farther than it should as he fell to the ground, limp.

Zelda ran at Ganondorf, a thousand futile plans against him running through her head. She knew that when she approached him she would seal her own doom. So why did she do it? All she could think of as reason was that no one else could. No one else should.

It was she who had received all these visions of him, she who had spoken with the gods concerning him, she who had plotted against him, she who had led him straight to the Triforce, she who had inherited a part of it herself. Now, with her hero gone, she was the only one able to stop him. Or so she hoped. As she ran near, he didn't even flinch. He just smiled. He smirked at her, grinned evilly as she came at him with every intention of stopping him. His seven days ended now.

Suddenly she was airborne, her legs kicking frantically and her arms caught up in the sky. Two small, old women on brooms carried her high, up to the cave. They cackled at her and Ganondorf laughed evilly.

She was thrown bodily into the cave. She fell down a short staircase and cracked her head on a large rock. As the world spun around her, she saw the two old women float into the room and Ganondorf come up with his arm above her, as in her dream.

She knew she was in terrible trouble. Not only was Ganondorf upon her, but these two women. Whether it was her concussion or the direction of the goddesses, she realized who these women had to be.

In her studies of religion, and through her studies of the Book of Mudora she had learned of Twinrova. Twinrova was supposedly the mother of all monsters, and was said to take the earthly form of two old women. She could grant great powers over black magic to any who would give up their soul's place on the other side.

This had to be where Ganondorf derived his magic… originally. Now he had a piece of the Triforce's power to help him.

Zelda started to pull herself up, but felt faint and fell to the ground again.

"Kotake! Koume!" Ganondorf said. "Place her upon the altar!"

"I thought you said you could do this alone, Ganondorf," one of the witches said.

"Yeah, we just came to watch your awesome Triforce of Power at work! Even we cannot do this, or did you not think we would have?"

"No matter how much power this takes, it still requires a sacrifice. I would have used that ingrate of a daughter. But she committed suicide?"

"Right before our eyes, Ganondorf. Gutted like a fish."

"Would we lie to you? Nabooru is gone. She was leading the rebellion against you."

"She would have made an excellent successor, had she not been so spiteful." Ganondorf rose from his melancholy. "Place her upon the altar!"

"Don't take that tone with us! Remember who gave you your start, Ganondorf."

"If you hadn't come to _us_ for power, where would you be now?"

"Let's get on with it before she comes to her senses!" he said.

"Don't worry about that. This will keep her."

She vaguely saw one witch making strange motions and suddenly she got very cold. Her head felt heavy and achy. She reached for it and touched something very cold crowning it. She drifted somewhere between cognition and the opposite.

Her body was lifted and set atop the rock she'd bumped her head on. One of the witches started circling the cavern. Torches were spread out through the room and she started lighting them with magic while Ganondorf chanted.

After a while he paused. "Now you must set her aflame, Koume!" The witch reached toward Zelda while he resumed his chant.

A flame sprouted in her hands as she came close. Though Zelda wasn't completely aware, she knew burning was bad. Her icy crown began to melt. She hoped something would happen, something would save her, very soon.

"Wait!" Ganondorf interrupted his own chanting, and Koume paused. "What is _that_?"

He stepped toward Zelda and grabbed hold of her right wrist. He stared at the mark of the Triforce on the back of her hand. He laughed. "Already, I have two pieces in my possession! And to think I was about to let it slip through my fingers!"

He folded his right hand over his. She could see his Triforce of Power on the back of his hand. It started glowing wildly, and ringing. Her body started burning with intense heat. This couldn't be happening! She was suddenly very awake. The ice freezing her head melted around her.

She was about to lose the Triforce of Wisdom, and be sacrificed for Ganondorf's dark deeds! This couldn't be allowed to happen! It certainly wasn't what the goddesses wanted! Her body began emitting intense heat once again. Ganondorf released her hand and the marks of the Triforce stopped glowing and ringing.

A dome of fire burst from Zelda once more. Every torch was lit. Kotake, the witch who had frozen Zelda, ran to her sister's side. Ganondorf was unscathed. The cave began rumbling. A pentacle upon the altar glowed brightly. Ganondorf began laughing greatly, and the witches glowed intensely. Lightning crashed outside.

Everything turned bright. When it calmed again, Zelda saw that the sisters were gone, and in their place stood one tall, Gerudo-like woman. Ganondorf was at first ecstatic, then dismayed.

"Where is he?" he cried.

"He is here!" the woman said in the voices of the witches. Zelda felt cold breath on her face, but saw no one. She raised the eye of truth to her face and leapt back. Through it, she saw a creature that wasn't there before. It had one eye and a wicked, phantom look. Two hands as large as cattle supported themselves on the ground, somehow holding up the immense head-body that wasn't even connected to the appendages.

Knowing not what else to do, she screamed and fell backward, dropping the lens. She drew backward, staring at the air where the creature had been.

Ganondorf grabbed the lens from the ground and looked through it.

"Great Lord Bongo," he said. "Phantom Shadow of the other world!"

"Great and powerful brother," the woman added.

A whisper, and at once a howl, replied. "Sister Twinrova, who is this that cannot even see me with his own eyes?"

"This is Ganondorf, who possesses more power now than I have myself! He has called you from your rest for a great cause!"

"Grant me an army of the dead, frightening one," Ganondorf said. "Together, you, I, and your sister shall rule this realm in an age of darkness!"

Zelda could do nothing, but watch wide-eyed in horror as this unfolded before her eyes. Ganondorf, having forgotten all about Zelda, now started laughing with the two demons and left the cavern with them.

She ran out to the entrance and looked down in horror. In the rain that fiercely poured, dead Hylians and Gerudos were scattered across the cemetery. The living ones still fought atop the bodies of their fallen comrades. But all the Stalchildren had turned to bone on the ground.

Zelda heard an incredible howl, and all those dead and buried in the graveyard rose as skeletons. They tore through the Hylian peasantry and stole their weapons for themselves. It all happened in a matter of moments.

Zelda prayed for the souls of all that had just been killed, and asked for the goddesses to bring an end to this quickly. Suddenly, a figure appeared from the tunnel. Impa.

"The children have stopped crying, Ganondorf!" Impa cried. "But all those just lost shall have vengeance!"

The skeletal army prepared for attack, but Ganondorf stopped them.

"The king of Hyrule requires amusement," he said. "Great Lord Bongo, care to do the honors?"

Zelda heard a mighty thud. A large handprint was embedded in the ground beside Ganondorf.

"Bongo!" Impa exclaimed. "The Shadow of the other side? You have dug deep into dark magic, Ganondorf. It will soon claim your life for the debt you owe!"

"Actually, I have your Princess to thank for his return to this side."

Impa gaped in awe at this, but was invisibly mauled. She was thrust back into the stone wall of the tunnel. She jumped back and out of the tunnel into the village.

Ganondorf laughed. He and Twinrova rushed through the entrance to the village.

Zelda could not see what was transpiring. She climbed out silently to the top of the natural cliff wall around the cemetery. She ran along it to the hill with the windmill. From here she could see all of the fight that could be seen with the naked eye.

Impa stood perfectly still, with her eyes closed. What was she doing! Zelda waited anxiously for what would occur next.

She jumped in the air and flipped. A building nearby shook violently, as though some sort of seismic force had hit it. Could Impa sense this beast without seeing it? If this creature chose to be silent, it would be silent. And as far as Zelda could tell, it was silent. Impa must be hearing it on another level, like the souls of the Stalchildren.

How had Impa gained this ability? Zelda herself was the only one she knew who could hear the dead, and only when they wanted her to.

Impa stood still, making all kinds of symbols with her hands. Most of which she had seen. She spotted light and shadow several times, along with earth. Finally, she jumped into the air, and Zelda could make out the slightest difference in the rainfall, as though the creature was coming toward the hill. It stopped at the well, however.

This was when Impa struck. Still airborne, Impa spun around and unleashed a disc of energy that flew over the well and stopped. Then it sank down into the well, and Zelda heard the same howl one more time, echoing from the bowels of the well.

Twinrova cried out in her two voices and rushed Impa. Impa dropped a flash pellet and disappeared. Zelda took off across the hill, making for Death Mountain. She was met on the way by Impa, who took her up and used her jumping technique up the rocky cliffs.


	17. Parting of Ways

A/N: Ok, so, cool, huh? Herein lies the final chapter of Zelda's childhood. Yeah, here's the plan. PD's gonna skip forward to the future, after the seven years, but Zelda's gonna have flashbacks to the seven years between. Mudora'll try not to make it confusing at all.

Mudora is… torn. Remember when Mudora said something about rewriting Princess' Destiny? Well, he's been thinking seriously about this subject. There is so much, in retrospect, Mudora wishes he had done differently. Maybe even make it a first-person story. He doesn't know if he can finish PD without going back and fixing it. Yet, he would hate to keep his readers in suspense much longer… WHAT SHOULD MUDORA DO! Umm… Mudora, recompose thyself. Ok, ok, anyway, please help Mudora in your review!

Now let's finish up the childhood of Zelda!

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 17:** Parting of Ways

Lightning. Zelda saw her reflection in the waters of the Zora River again. It changed forms to become a young Gerudo girl. Zelda walked along the side of the river, watching this Gerudo reflection as it wavered in the water. Lightning struck again. She looked a little older, this Gerudo girl. Lightning struck again and she appeared almost fourteen years old. Lightning, and the reflection changed form entirely. It took on the appearance of Zelda's Sheikah guise, Sheik. Now it appeared much older than Zelda. Lightning. It was a girl of about sixteen in commoner's clothes. Lightning. Zelda watched the reflection become a scene of the young woman leading an army. Lightning. Sheik stood atop a building in the castle town. Looking out on Hyrule, he saw the world in utter turmoil. The plagues of the lands had fallen. Kakariko was drowned in a rainfall, Lake Hylia dried up, Zora's Fountain frozen over, and Death Mountain burning with intense heat. He stared out on the Lost Woods, and saw an infestation of monsters. Finally a light came from the Temple of Time…

The sun beat down on Zelda's eyelids, forcing her to open them against her preference. She was lying on her back on rock. She looked around for Impa, but didn't see her. She decided to spend this time discerning her dream.

She stood up and looked down from the elevated place where she and Impa had set up camp the night before. A dark cloud floated in a fixed position above the village far below. Every now and then light flashed from under the cloud and seconds later Zelda heard a rumbling sound, as thunder. The whole thing was a strange spectacle, no doubt an after-effect of the horrible dark magic from the night before.

Zelda was reminded of the Kakariko Village of her visions. Would this storm last as long as Ganondorf's reign? And what of that? The seven days had now passed. His time should be over.

Zelda thought of her vision. Seven bursts of lightning, the reflection in the river, the plagues of Hyrule… It was a reprisal, a re-instatement of the things she had already seen. Usually that meant she had yet to properly interpret the focus of the vision.

The seven lightning bolts she had assumed meant the seven days of Ganondorf's rule. But his rule wasn't over. How could it be over? No one takes a nation by force and loses it within a week's time!

So she had delivered the goddesses' message, but it was a riddle even to Ganondorf what it had meant. And it scared him into rushing. He had planned to draw up Lord Bongo to raise an undead army to protect himself from the goddesses' wrath. Had that worked? So much was left unresolved from the night before.

As if by cue, Impa came up to their settlement.

"Princess, you are awake," she greeted.

"No 'Good morning'?"

"Well…"

"Ganondorf is back, the seven days are over, and his rule remains."

"Yet…"

"Yet what?"

"There are still a good number of men in Kakariko. Those who survived and fled from the castle town were too injured and weak to fight last night. They still live, and can be taught to fight."

"Yes? But how do you fight a man with so much power?"

"Well, though he has the Triforce of Power he is not all powerful. And his forces are limited, as I have made sure."

"You what?"

"Princess, did you see my battle with the phantom beast, Bongo last night?"

"What there was to see."

"Good, because I want to talk to you about that. That song you played yesterday changed me."

"What do you mean?"

"It awakened me to a whole new portion of my life. Princess, I am a descendant of Hanara of Shadow."

"Who?"

"Hanara of Shadow was one of the original sages. He lived in Kakariko Village. He watched over the Shadow Temple, and was a good friend of the Knight, Sheik."

"So?"

"So, that means the blood of the Sages runs through my veins, Princess. And that song awoke me to my destiny."

"Your destiny?"

"Yes. Now I am a Sage, Princess. I am Impa of Shadow. And as long as I am Sage of the Shadow Temple, Ganondorf shall not claim the dead. He has a limited army of skeletal warriors, no longer children, but no more. There is only one who can bring the dead back from the other side, and that is Lord Bongo."

"Lord Bongo? But I thought he was now working with Ganondorf."

"I have sealed Bongo's spiritual essence. He now is a fixed phantom inside the bottom of the Kakariko well. He can no longer cause any threat to Hyrule, as long as I stay close enough to maintain the seal."

"Close enough?" Zelda asked.

"Yes. It will strain my limited ability with this new magic if I go too far. Even now I am straining."

"Then we should go to Kakariko!"

"No. I may be able to, but you are not. Ganondorf has posted a regimen of Gerudos in the valley, and they will arrest you and take you straight to him if they see you."

"But I must…"

"No, Princess, the time has come for you to protect yourself. I must stay near Kakariko, ever out of sight, to maintain the seal on Lord Bongo. I can no longer even give up concentration to teach you the Shadow Arts. You must leave Hyrule now! This is no place for you!"

Tears. Impa was always Zelda's stone-faced bodyguard, but now… She knew she couldn't protect Zelda, and Zelda could tell that Impa only hoped that Zelda could take care of herself. Impa now had no idea what would happen. Too many responsibilities were cast on her shoulders.

As Impa's tears fell down her cheeks, Zelda vowed that she would not have to worry. Zelda would be one less burden for Impa. She could now care for herself.

"Impa…" She didn't know what to say.

"Princess, I am sorry. I didn't ask…"

"This is all in the hands of the goddesses, remember?" Zelda said. She couldn't keep back the tears in her own eyes for long. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. The name 'Zelda' will not be uttered in Hyrule again. Not until Ganondorf's rule is over."

"Good. Here, take this," Impa said. It was a rolled up piece of parchment. "It will give you as much aid as I know how to give at this point. Go now. Over the East Mountains, and out of Hyrule."

Zelda took the parchment and grabbed what other things she had; bandages, Sheikah weapons, some rations, and the Book of Mudora. With that, she started walking away from Impa. Impa watched her go.

Zelda walked as long as she could, until the tears finally caught up to her. She ran off, around some rocks and stopped for a moment, crying. After she had cried for a moment, she turned to look around the rocks, but Impa was gone. She was alone now.

She opened the parchment. Written on it were a few Sheikah spells. One was circled, and labeled, "Art of Disguise". Zelda made all the hand signals referred on the page, and gathered each energy, then she equally distributed the energy through all parts of her body, as instructed. Finally, she thought of how she wished to appear. She thought of that Gerudo girl in her vision momentarily. Releasing the energy, she looked down at her arms. They were dark tan.

Had it worked? She grabbed some locks of hair and stared at them. Bright red, like fire. She felt her ears. They were large and round, as opposed to the thin, long ears of the Hylians. She was now a Gerudo. The spell didn't toll on her body too much at a time, for a first time use of one of the shadow arts.

The name Zelda would leave Hyrule now. She had promised Impa. But her visions of Hyrule were too important. She had to know when and how Ganondorf would cease to rule the land. She now had to remain.

So right under Ganondorf's nose she would go. The Gerudos knew the ways of the Sheikah. Zelda would learn from them, then return to finish what she had started.

She needed a Gerudo name, and Gerudo clothes… those would come later. For now, she would journey around the outer edge of Hyrule to the Gerudo Desert. There she would take on apprenticeship under the warrior women and become an incredible Sheikah. There, her journey to defeating Ganondorf would begin.


	18. Pieces Assembled, Part 1

A/N: Ok, Mudora's thinking he'll go ahead and switch to first person now, and go back later to change Zelda's childhood. So, now we'll get right into the story. Tell me what you think of the new set up!

**A Princess' Destiny**

Chapter 18: The Pieces Assembled, Part One 

"Please, please sell me something!" She sat upon the porch of the Bazaar in Kakariko. How she had gotten here was still somewhat of a blur to her.

From a handful of years in training under her very enemies, to hiding under the protection of several races… Few actually knew she was still alive, except those to whom Impa had revealed. Even Impa believed she was in a far-off country. But she was not. Perhaps now she would be married to a prince and living out her life in a castle, a place like home. There was no such place now.

Now she was sitting under an awning, dripping water, in the gloomy Kakariko marketplace, begging for some food. Certainly, she had a little money, but were she to buy food now it would all be expended. Her stomached ached in severe pain. She could go now to her old master, Impa. Tell her where she had been the past several years. But no. Her one-time bodyguard would throw a fit, and insist that she leave immediately. And she couldn't.

Ganondorf had usurped her world, and for that he would pay. By the direction of the goddesses she was brought to this very place, hopefully to soon end that evil man's rule. For now, she just awaited the arrival of the goddesses' sign.

For the past few years, this is how she worked. The goddesses had stopped giving her direct visions and leaving her to work out the signs of their work in the world.

A Zora man began toward the entrance of the shop.

"Please, sir. Sell me some food?"

He gave a passing glance to the mud-soaked young woman, in rags and on her knees. He took a second look at her face, much more thoroughly. His eyes grew wide, and as she met his eyes, so did hers.

"Kauyo?" she said.

"Ze-Kathra?"

Kauyo was the one person who knew her secret. Two years ago they had met while she hid herself at the Zora's Domain. Then she had taken on the appearance of a plain Zora girl who she named Kathra. Yet, Kauyo found out. She even thought she could love Kauyo at the time. By now, she thought her heart had hardened beyond the capacity of such things, but seeing him again welled up old feelings. Feelings she hardly recognized.

"Kathra," he said slowly, hoping she would accept his usage of the name now. The beggar she now was had no need for a name, so she let it pass. "I was just… are you alright? What's happened?"

"There's no use dwelling on the past, Kauyo. I'm here now, and I really need to eat." Her cold manner toward him bruised the calluses of her inner self she had built.

"What happened to the goddesses' plans?"

"Those can wait until after a meal. And I already told you that I don't want you involved."

"Meet me on Death Mountain Trail in about half an hour."

This cryptic message led her to Kauyo's plans. In her absence, he had formed a rebellion. Hylians and Gorons had teamed up to form an army. Here she ended up spending the next year, changing back from a beggar, a refugee. Here she had become the now-known princess, leading a rebellion. If only she had known how it would end…

I let the memories pass as I stared out onto Hyrule Castle Town Square. How had this happened? I recalled the battle, the actual end of this army. Ganondorf didn't even step out until half the forces were already depleted. He stood upon the center of what was once a fountain in the middle of the square. The fountain had begun to spray blood, obviously just a theatrical effect the dark king had decided upon. Suddenly, all of the rebel corpses had arisen and fought their living comrades.

I tried to warn him. But Kauyo was so stubborn. He told me words of reassurance and kissed me in that way… Next thing I knew, I woke up three hours later with a splitting headache, with vague memory of being drugged.

I stared out at one of the few who hadn't arisen. A beheaded Zora man, whose head was stuck on the end of his own pike. Kauyo. I could no longer cry. When first I had seen how Ganondorf had desecrated his corpse, I had wept myself dry.

Now I was the only survivor. The warriors' had shed their armor, and their skin had quickly deteriorated. They still roamed the streets, groaning and wailing at their miserable state.

Ganondorf was having his Gerudo scouts search the hands of all the dead for the mark. He thought I was in the battle. But now I hid in the shadows on the rooftops. And he wouldn't recognize me even if he saw me. I had taken on my old guise of Sheik, the Sheikah.

This is what happened when people learned my identity. No more. Zelda would have to disappear once more. And forever. Why did they think they had a chance of stopping him?

They didn't. They knew they wouldn't survive. But they knew no one else could save the world from this monstrous tyrant. Even I couldn't. Hyrule was now hopeless. There was no one left strong enough to save it.

I may as well end it all, I thought, and headed for the Temple of Time. Now, I would cry out to the goddesses for answers. They had shown me what would happen, and had shown me hope in a Kokiri boy. But he just led Ganondorf to the Triforce, and the Kokiri was now dead. It was as if the goddesses planned to destroy Hyrule. Now, I would face my true enemy.

More than I hated Ganondorf for what he had done, I couldn't stand that the goddesses had allowed it. I rushed from rooftop to rooftop to the Temple on the east side of the city.

Suddenly, a hum in my head started, and grew in volume. I stood in front of the Temple now, but the sound in my head grew shrill and loud, until suddenly it stopped.

Silence surrounded the city. The noise had stopped when I stopped in front of one of the many statues of Ganondorf erected in the city. He obviously found humor in leaving the city in ruins, but building stone images to inhabit it.

The statue opened its mouth, and a voice escaped its stone lips. The voice of a woman.

"Princess of Destiny!" it boomed. I looked around the city at the Gerudos searching the hands of the Re-deads, as Ganondorf had named his undead army. None of them seemed to notice the loud, commanding voice. Apparently I was the only one who heard.

Afraid of alerting the Gerudos to my presence, I directed a telepathic message to the stone mouthpiece of the goddesses. I skipped all the small talk, and went straight for the accusations.

_How could you let all of them die like that!_ I asked in a range of emotion.

"This was not our doing, bold one. This was the work of Ganondorf."

_It occurred by your lack of action!_

"And what is our 'action' but your own? This occurred by your lack of action, chosen one."

By this point, I was infuriated. How could they point this at me! _I did all I could!_

"Then it is at no man's fault but those involved," the statue said. "Those who refused to listen to our wisdom, spoken through you. Their folly caused their own fall."

As much as it pained me to hear such things said about Kauyo and all involved in the resistance, I had to admit that it was true. If they had listened… A single tear that I didn't know I still had slid from my eye and wet the bandage mask over the bottom portion of my face.

The goddesses continued in their singular voice, spoken from a stone image of Ganondorf. "This army we guided you into, to become a leader thereof, was to be a defense for the people. Yet, as all rebellions do, it could no longer wait and launched into war; a war it could not win."

These blatant truths concerning the deaths of those I loved cut me deeply.

_Then what do you expect of us?_ I said, somewhat irreverently. _How can Hyrule be saved, if it has none that can save it?_

"Hyrule could not be saved for a time. Just as our beautiful creatures destroyed our creation in a feud to control the power of the Triforce, now the Power of the Triforce has destroyed them in a feud to control our creation. A time of punishment had to be enforced, equal to the crime."

_Are you saying this shall continue for a hundred years? How can you!_

"Silence, impotent child! Can you create earth, life, and law? Can you maintain it in a balance of Power, Wisdom, and Courage? Can you be so just as to allow one man to atone for the sins of a nation, and another to rectify that man's? Can you use your enemies to judge your people, while protecting those who will judge your enemies? Your father thought all would be right by a piece of parchment, that all would be acceptable if your people made peace. He left us out of the equation, and for that, we have made right our land!"

_What are you saying? That you approve of Ganondorf?_

"You will not speak to your eternal mothers in that way, child of prophecy. We have already stated that we approve not of Ganondorf, but have made use of him to show our creation the monster of greed they so long held tight to. Our enemies' time is at hand. Ganondorf, and those monsters he has awakened from the slumber we cast them into shall be brought to the earth, and below."

_After a hundred years of retribution?_ I was careful to stretch my thoughts in a much more pleasant tone.

"No child, for though his reign shall be shorter, it has been much worse than the hundred years war. During his reign, no man could move against him without being silent as the Sheikah. But the time for action is at hand. Our chosen Hero was born late as a testament to our judgment. Had we wanted to end Ganondorf's reign before it started, we would have chosen your father, or one like him. But instead, we chose otherwise. Now our Hero is almost ready."

_Your Hero?_

"Yes, destined one. He is our hero, and the Hero of Time."

_The Hero of Time!_

"Yes. Now it is for us to pass to you our secret, that which we have held from the beginning. The secret of the temples, of the Sages, and of the Hero of Time. You shall know our plans, and be the messenger of them."

_The Sages? There are already Sages, and it is no secret._

I suddenly saw in my mind the image of a fantastic sword, with a blue, jewel-encrusted hilt and a beautifully elegant blade.

"Do you know what this blade is, Zelda?"

_I have never seen such a sword._

"It is the Master Sword, the legendary blade of old. None have yet lived who were capable of wielding this weapon. The one who will is called the Hero of Time."

_Neither is the legend of the Master Sword a secret._

"But do you know what the Hero's purpose is? When evil overshadows the world, a voice will give an awakening call from the Sacred Realm for all those destined to be Sages. There is but one of the original Sages who now lives: Rauru of Light, who dwells in the Sacred Realm."

_There is another Sage already active._

"You speak of Impa of Shadow, do you not? She still has not come into the fullness of her existence as a Sage. The awakening call shall affect her as well as the others."

_Others?_

"Aside from Rauru, there are six more Sages, one who will lead them all. The one to lead them is to be the one called by us, the goddesses."

_And who is that?_

"Princess of Destiny, if you are not clever enough to figure this one out, perhaps you should return the Triforce of Wisdom unto us. Just as we have waited seven years for the Hero of Time to enter his ability, we have waited seven years for the leader of the Sages to fulfill her own. You are the one chosen to lead the six Sages in the final conflict. We perceive that you are now ready. The rest of the Sages shall make their way to the temples of their people, and you shall guide them. Two have already entered the temples, the Sage of Shadow being one. The other hasn't yet even perceived that she is in the temple of a Sage."

_How am I to guide those I do not know to places I have not seen?_

"We shall guide you. The temples cannot be that difficult to find. One in a deep forest, one on a high mountain, one under a vast lake, one within the house of the dead, and one inside a goddess of the sand. As for the Sages, you shall know them for their manner. They are very different from the others of their people, for they have all been touched by the Hero, though they knew him not. Now, if you will do all that we ask in order to save your land, go to Kakariko. There you shall meet with your former attendant. When you have learned what is to be done there, return unto the Temple of Time. There, all shall be fulfilled."

With that, the stone mouth closed again into the self-satisfied smirk Ganondorf's likeness possessed, and the voice ended. I had my confrontation, as I had wanted. But it didn't end as expected. Now, I was to leave, as the goddesses had commanded.


	19. Pieces Assembled, Part 2

Author's Note: There was one line in that last chappy that Mudora found extremely difficult to write. Does anyone know what that was? He felt like he needed to take some serious testosterone pills afterward… or just watch some sports or something. He still has a nasty taste in his mouth… or is that just dinner? Anyway, without further ado, here is…

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 19:** Pieces Assembled, Part Two

She skirted the small pool that had developed in the lower portions of Kakariko Valley. Though it was shallow, it was very murky, and regardless of all other factors, it was a pool of muddy water, and though she walked in the perpetual rain of the valley, she still had some dignity.

There, sitting atop the wooden frame over the well, sat Impa. Impa was the most highly regarded citizen of the city, but now, she had been balancing in a meditative position for so long, some wondered if she was even still alive. Yet, every now and again, she would move, ever so slightly, reminding the villagers of Kakariko that she was still here, watching over them.

And though she was soaked through and through, though her hair clung to her face, though her purple eyes had not been seen in several years behind her dark lids, though she spoke not a word nor acknowledged any in her presence, and though she remained in that position throughout the monsoon, Impa the Sheikah remained one of the most regal sights the village could boast for the past five years.

The young noblewoman, Adalene, approached the living statue, Impa. She could speak even now to her former bodyguard and attendant and ask for her help. But she wouldn't. Impa would be furious with her. She could tell her of the three years she had spent with the Gerudos, learning all there was to know about the Sheikah art of stealth, and more. She could tell her of all the knowledge and abilities the goddesses had led her into, all the wisdom and magic she had gained from the Triforce on her hand. And she could tell her of the enemies who now pursued her, though they believed they pursued a sixteen-year-old Goron named Makrina.

Yet would her former attendant, former bodyguard, former master, and former friend rebuke her for not heeding her advice, for putting herself in harm's way. She would not seek her guidance now. It was too late. Now she was alone. She turned from the weathered Sheikah and began to walk away.

No, she was not alone, she decided. The goddesses were still with her. They would guide her…

Memories came rushing back as I peered down into the valley. Things had only changed slightly. The village was still as gloomy as ever, if not more so. The pool had risen to the level of the ground where the well stood, and the waters met the pool in the cemetery. Now, the murky pond in the valley was floored with uncovered bone, and who knew what else.

The economy had suffered as well, as Ganondorf had cursed a particularly rich family and his thieving countrywomen no doubt plundered their house. It was said that whoever entered the house of this nobility either died or became a monster. I hoped neither was true, but wasn't eager to find out for myself.

I made sure my left eye was sufficiently hidden behind my long, blonde bangs. All the times I wanted to talk to Impa in the past seven years, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It took the command of the goddesses to actually convince me to do it. I hoped I wouldn't wimp out yet again.

I took a deep breath and descended into the valley. Immediately, water pierced through my bandages, my Sheikah cloth, and straight to my skin. It wasn't very pleasant. I couldn't help wondering how Impa had been able to stand it for seven years.

I jumped a top a building to avoid the cursed pond, and began making my way around from there to the well. I dropped silently before Impa.

"I wondered when you would come, _Sheik_," she said in a hoarse voice, as one unused for a long time. "Tell me, how long since your return to Hyrule?"

"How long since you stopped believing that the goddesses would protect me? That they would continue to deliver messages to me until the day Ganondorf is cast down from his throne into the lake of fire beneath it? How long since you gave the tiniest inkling of a care for…"

"Don't dare say such things!"

"Be careful who you speak to with that tone, Impa the statue. Not only am I your future queen, I am an emissary of the goddesses."

"And quite a haughty little thing since you grew a couple feet." Impa opened one eye toward me. "Have you always been built like a man?"

"_This_ is a disguise. Or have you forgotten? I've been using those Sheikah spells you gave me since you left me. I never had to leave Hyrule."

Now both eyes were open. "I know you never left Hyrule, and as for your disguises, _Sheik_, they are the most pathetic, transparent things I've ever seen. Anyone who wanted to research Sheik, Adalene, Kathra, Makrina, Qalura, Filari, or even the nameless beggar outside the Kakariko Bazaar would easily learn they are all Princess Zelda Hyrule. That disguise spell doesn't hide your distinguishing features; it adds the features of whatever you become. Whether it is a Gerudo, a Zora, a Goron, a Kokiri," here she eyed me up conspicuously, "or a slim, yet strapping young man. Those features overtake your own, but the rest of yours remain."

I had noticed something to this effect, but the fact that she had recognized and used it against me burned. "Strange that a blind, mute, and apparently inattentive statue of a Sheikah would know so much about so many nomads."

"I have conversed with a Sheikah friend of mine, who has kept tabs on you. I knew from the very beginning that you would never leave Hyrule."

"Then why are you angry with me!"

"Your cowardice about speaking to me compliments the three-year Gerudo stench that remains upon you. How much did you truly learn from those thieves?"

"They apparently did a good job stealing the martial arts of the Sheikah, Impa. I learned very much."

"Would you care to test it out?"

"Not now. We are both too angry to fight."

"Good. You have not lost your practicality in Sheikah laws. So, shall we continue this banter or is there a reason you gained the courage to speak?"

"Actually, the goddesses sent me here."

"So the truth comes out. It required the commanding voice of the goddesses to scare you all the way to me."

"Impa, cut it out. This is no time to bicker."

"I am not bickering, Sheik. I am merely stating fact, as Sheikah are wont to do."

"No one says, 'wont,' unless they are truly not wont, Impa."

"Perhaps. Now, is there a point to all of this?"

"The goddesses have finally said it straight out. The time is now approaching. Ganondorf will soon fall."

"And it took you the slaughter of countless Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons to discover this?"

"That was not my fault!" I shouted. "I tried to prevent it from happening! Ganondorf…" I started, but couldn't think of how to finish. "Kauyo…" That statement I simply couldn't finish. "Impa!"

"Regardless, there is something you should know. Ganondorf passed this way earlier, with a detachment of Gerudos. He went up Death Mountain. I distinctly heard something about retribution upon the peoples."

"What? He plans to destroy the Gorons and the Zoras! Impa, we must…"

"I thought the goddesses sent you here. Isn't going against them what usually causes things to go badly?"

Once again, Impa was right. Something about that fact made me quite upset.

"Impa, the goddesses said you knew what had to be done, or something to that effect."

"Well, aside from saving the Gorons from imminent magical doom, I am not sure what they might mean."

This did not sound like what the goddesses had in mind. They were talking about Sages and temples. Not a massacre of the Gorons. I had to be more direct.

"Impa, the goddesses said they have a hero, the Hero of Time. He will come from the Sacred Realm and awaken the Sages in their respective temples. I am to guide the Sages to their temples. How can you help?"

"Well, when you put it like that, Miss, I feel quite compelled."

"Impa, your seven-year silence has made you sour."

"It is not my seven-year silence, but yours."

"So I didn't write to you. I am so very sorry!" I didn't say it quite enthusiastically, but with a good deal of sarcasm. "Impa, if you're going to pout about the past, you could ruin the state of the future. I have been quite busy while you sat here and brooded about your little princess growing up without you."

"I have not been brooding, o, keeper of Wisdom. I have been sitting here unable to help you, for fear of freeing what could be a greater darkness than even Ganondorf. Bongo is still sealed in the darkness beneath me, and if I were to hunt you down, to help you, guide you and protect you, he would break free of my seal and destroy my village. I had to make a choice! Was it the right one? I don't know. But neither one satisfied me."

"Are you then angry with the goddesses for your fate?"

"No! By the Triforce, no. Was I not the one who always told you to put your faith in the goddesses? Yet here I sat, waiting for seven years for the goddesses to pull through, and instead I had to watch as all things you prophesied came true. I am not one to sit and watch, Zelda, but this was my lot in life, and I had to stick to it. Yet everyday, the Sheikah oath pulled at me as I watched you grow up constantly under Ganondorf's protruding nose without my protection."

Those words summed up all of Impa's anger. It was not directed at me, but inward. Not at herself, but at parts of herself. Her oath, her duty, her decisions. She could not stand the last seven years of her life for what _she_ had done, or not done, rather than others' deeds. But little did she realize how important she truly was.

"Impa, you have kept your oath. Your training and your spell scroll protected me for seven years. Here I stand before you unscathed outwardly. And those inward wounds were nothing you could have prevented. The world reaches us all. You have kept your oath. You have protected me. You have protected Kakariko. And you have protected Hyrule for seven long and dark years."

Impa sat for a moment, quietly as she had done for so long. Finally she spoke again. "Thank you, child. You are right. The goddesses have granted you much wisdom. Now, as for what you asked of me, there is one thing I can think of that will help."

I lit up when she said this.

"You mentioned something of Sages and temples, and the Hero of Time? I know I am a Sage, and I have always known where to find the Temple of Shadow. However, one without magic or the shadow arts could never hope to get inside."

"Yes, I remember its entrance was high upon the rock wall."

"Well, there may be a way for one to bypass magic altogether to get to such places. A hero who must locate all five hidden temples of Hyrule would make good use of this ability, yes?"

"Of course!"

"Sheik was said to have owned an item of this kind that he made use of before learning the art of leaping. Afterward, it was lost."

"If it was lost, how would we make use of it today?"

"Do you remember Dampe the grave keeper?"

I nodded.

"Follow me." Impa hopped down from the beam over the well and led me away from it, toward the graveyard. My heart leapt at the anticipation. This had to be what the goddesses wanted. Soon this would be done, and then the Hero would come. I had to admit, I wasn't just a little happy to be by Impa's side again, as well, but the anxiety of meeting him, the Hero of Time, weighed much more in my mind. I wondered who this strange man from the Sacred Realm might be, and what he may have obtained there that would qualify him as the Hero of Time.


	20. Pieces Assembled: Revelation

A/N: Wow, Mudora is having fun now. Once Link left Hyrule, the childhood got too… stuck in a rut, or something like that. Zelda was getting boring, but now her character has matured and… LINK'S COMING BACK! I can't wait to write more on Hero's Path. Boy, is Mudora a loser.

Mudora is thinking of setting up his profile a little more conventionally. Maybe let readers know a little more about him. And maybe even put sneak-peeks of upcoming chapters on instead of new update summaries. Hmm… Mudora gets excited easily, eh? Anyway, let's get through the adulthood introduction.

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 20:** Pieces Assembled, Part Three: Revelation

Lightning: The shadow of Ganondorf broke the seal on the Lost Woods, and he led an army of monsters in as vegetation choked the children of the forest. Lightning: The Gorons were imprisoned and a dragon flew over Death Mountain as it burned. Lightning: Zora's Fountain was frozen over, with all the Zora's and Lord Jabu Jabu contained in the ice. Lightning: Strange water appeared on the surface of Lake Hylia, and it was dried up so that only the foreign substance remained. Lightning: Large splashes, as invisible footsteps, appeared in the pond in Kakariko Valley as the dead began to walk amongst the living. Lightning: A strange Gerudo woman issued forth a darkness that fed the evil king of Hyrule from the Gerudo Desert. Lightning: Shining light appeared from the threshold of the Temple of Time as a figure stepped through holding the Master Sword, preparing to strike down Ganondorf…

I awoke in the Temple of Time, realizing that I had just seen a vision. Such a thing hadn't happened in seven years' time.

The seven bursts of lightning. Just as the number three was a common representation the goddesses used, this number seven was as well. Seven bursts of lightning, seven Sages, seven temples, and seven years had passed since I had received a vision.

Perhaps this was it, a culmination of everything that had occurred over the past seven years. All that Ganondorf had done to this land would be dispelled. All that Impa, the rebellion, and I had done would have purpose. Link, Kauyo, and all the others who had died would not have died in vain. The Hero of Time would appear, the Sages would awaken, and Ganondorf would be brought down.

The night before, Impa had shown me the diary of that poor old grave keeper. Apparently he found Sheik's artifact that Impa spoke of. It had been buried with him. Surely, this Hero could find it in Dampe's tomb. I returned here in the night and slept on the cold, stone floor of the Temple.

I gazed around the room. It wasn't any brighter than when I drifted into sleep. The castle town ruins were kept under dense cover of smoke from Ganondorf's lake of fire, which he had formed by destroying Hyrule Castle. He made a huge crater, in which his lake had been formed, and reformed the castle into his own horrible pillar, floating above it.

My attention was brought to the altar. Below it, I saw three stones; one green, one red, and one blue. All had lost the brilliance they once held.

They reminded me of the poor boy I had commissioned to seek out those stones, only to be manipulated by Ganondorf and die in the Sacred Realm. If his body had been brought back, he would have had the noblest ceremony, greater than that of the kings, Knights, or Sages of old. That is, if Ganondorf had given any the chance to do such a thing. I resolved that, body or no body, that child would receive his honorable funeral the moment Ganondorf took his last breath.

Suddenly, the stones began glowing brightly. They made a strange ringing sound, and rose from the ground. Shattered pieces of some ceramic construction also rose from the floor in the midst of the stones and formed a perfect, feminine face.

"Princess of Destiny," it said, the lips moving in perfect harmony with the voice. It was a familiar greeting from a familiar voice. The goddesses. I had to admit that the iridescent colors of the stones on the ceramic face were a nice touch.

"My great Mothers," I replied, reverently. I really wanted to make up for last time. I rarely got to speak with the goddesses, and the usual formalities of prayer didn't seem quite enough in their presence.

"Doubtless, you have understood the dream we have given you," they said in their singular voice.

"Truly. The Hero shall dispel all of Ganondorf's curses and save this land from his grip."

"That is not all. Which of these curses that we have shown you have yet occurred within the land of Hyrule?"

"None, except two," I said after thinking about it. Only the moving vegetation of the forest and the power of evil from Twinrova, the curse of Ganondorf itself, had already occurred.

"It is so," they replied.

Something about this encounter just seemed much holier, and I'm not just talking about the Spiritual Stones. This Temple was the place men came to worship the goddesses. I was in their house, so without realizing it at first, I now noticed that our speech had become much more formal than it normally was.

They continued speaking.

"Let it come to pass; that before the Hero shall strike the Evil King from his throne, the wicked man shall cast a long shadow of darkness on the land. Thus says Din, the goddess of earth, fire and Power; thus says Nayru, the goddess of law, water, and Wisdom; and thus says Farore, goddess of life, the forest, and Courage. Thus concur all the spirits and fairies that dwell throughout the land; thus deliver this message, the Sages; and thus rings the Triforce, essence of the gods and all magic: that Hyrule shall know its goddesses, fear its creators, and love its sustainers before the binding of all that is evil. For nothing shall come to pass without our knowledge of it."

"It will be known," I said with a low, Sheikah bow.

"You have done well to learn from Impa of Shadow what you learned last evening. The artifact you discovered will permit entry for the Hero in the first of these temples, the Temple of Forest.

"Now, Zelda, Princess of Destiny; now, Sheik, keeper of the secret of the gods: go forth. Thus do your goddesses command, that you go forth and lead all of your Sages, all of our Sages, to the predestined places of awakening, the temples.

"You shall not lead the Sages until their people are crying out for help, until the curse of Ganondorf lies heavily upon them. Now, the curse of Ganondorf's magic has already brought one Sage to the temple, though she is hardly aware even now. Yet, the children of the Forest Spirit, our reincarnate, the Deku Tree, cry out for help. They know very little of us, their eternal Mothers, and are lost without their father. You shall go forth unto them, and bring their Sage unto the temple. This one is a girl that has been touched deeper than any of the other children -- and perhaps any of the other Sages -- by the chosen Hero of the goddesses.

"Thus shall you do with all of the people, all of the curses, all of the Sages and all of the temples, until the Hero restores all of Hyrule. Take the harp we have given you, for you will need it. We shall teach you the melodies of the gods that will awaken the Sages. The harp cannot do it by its magic, for the temples are choked in Ganondorf's evil power. In order for our messengers, the Sages, to come into their full power they must be called by the power of stronger magic -- the magic we have bestowed to our Hero.

"Yet, chosen one, keeper of prophecy and head Sage, you must wait to begin the journey that lies before you. Now, you must encounter our other chosen one: the fulfillment of prophecy, and Hero of Time. However, he must not learn your true identity yet. He shall know you as Sheik, the surviving Sheikah. We shall tell you the acceptable time to present yourself as keeper of Wisdom and head Sage to our chosen Hero. He has waited seven years in the Sacred Realm, and now he will bring to pass all that we have shown you."

The room darkened as the Stones lost their shine once more. The face crumbled into shattered clay once more, and fell to the Temple's floor with the Stones.

A thought entered my head at the last words of the goddesses, but I let it pass quickly. The goddesses would never contradict themselves, never lie to me, and so I must not dwell on those long gone.

A light shone from beyond the threshold where the Door of Time once stood. I walked through to check it out.

There, my suspicions were realized. A man stood in front of the pedestal I had once viewed within. He was taller than I, and though his back faced me, I knew immediately who it was. The man had blond hair and pale skin, traits of a Hylian, yet he wore a green tunic over white clothing, and a green Kokiri hat. Link! Yes, a fairy floated near him, and they were quietly conversing. It had to be Link, the Kokiri boy! But he was a Kokiri, and he was dead! I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew that this was my old friend, the one who inspired hope in the people of Hyrule in an age long past. And in his gloved hand was the legendary Master Sword.

He turned to face me, and was startled. I was surprised that it startled him, though I didn't let it show. I realized that though I had known him for seven years, he hadn't seen my most famous guise, that of Sheik. I had to speak, alleviate his fears. I had that trademark, spooky-mysterious, Sheikah appearance and he was gripping his weapon.

"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time," I said. That wouldn't do. I had to gain his trust. No, what was I thinking? I was just to deliver my message, as told by the goddesses. "When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples."

I had his attention. Now to complete the message. Could I remember the five locations?

"One in a deep forest…" That much I definitely knew. "One on a high mountain…" I remembered that one. "One under a vast lake…" This one I remembered for the mystery of it. "One within the house of the dead…" The Shadow Temple, I knew. What was the other? I remember it making very little sense. Something about a goddess… Ah, yes. "One inside a goddess of the sand…" One, two, three, four, five. That was all of them.

"Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world…" That sounded nice.

But how would I lend credit to all of this? If I were to simply say, "The goddesses said so," he may guess my identity, something the goddesses didn't want.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" he said. Though I remembered as clear as yesterday what his voice sounded like, it was much different. It was deeper yet still somewhat recognizably his. But he was asking questions I could not give true answers to. Perhaps it was that since I disguised myself as a Sheikah, the secret could be disguised similarly.

"This is the legend passed down by my people, the Sheikah. I am Sheik, survivor of the Sheikah." Would he buy it? Did he still trust the Sheikah, as he at one time trusted Impa in his youth? In his eyes I saw a fire, some anger deep down toward someone. Certainly it was Ganondorf, the one who had tricked him. Now I would have to put my faith in him, so that he too may trust his ability to win this time.

"As I see you standing there, holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time."

Link held the sword up and examined it. He moved it in a manner befitting a master swordsman. He knew what he was doing now. That was quite reassuring. However, he looked at the sword, and looked himself up and down, as in disbelief.

"Am I supposed to listen to you?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages. One Sage will be waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple." I realized now what the goddesses meant when they said the Sage was someone touched by the Hero. He had grown up in the Lost Woods, so she had to be a friend of his. "The Sage is a girl I am sure you know. But because of the evil power in the temple she cannot hear the awakening call of the Sacred Realm, unless it is delivered by you alone. Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you cannot even enter the temple. But if you believe what I am saying, you should head to Kakariko Village. Do you understand, Link?"

"I guess so," he said, not in a submissive manner, but somewhat immaturely.

I watched as he departed the Temple of Time and stepped out into the ruined castle town. I realized at that moment that the sights of the world may frighten him, but it was too late now. Now I would continue in the work of the goddesses, and go to the Lost Woods.


	21. Sage of the Forest

A/N: Well, Mudora did it. He changed his profile to be a little more like other people's profile. Before, it was more like a blog, giving useless story and personal progress updates that no one read. Now it has some things about Mudora's self as a writer and lover of Zelda. Truthfully, he updated it when he posted that he wanted to in the last chapter.

So now we're fully engaged in the adulthood segment of PD! Yay! Mudora is glad! He's planned out Zelda/Sheik's actions up through the Shadow Temple arc. And boy is Zelda gonna keep busy! Man. Hardly any room to squeeze in a meal with all she's gonna be doing. You've got the basic idea, right? Anyway, let's start…

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 21:** Sage of the Forest

She stood on the edge of the forest. Would it work? Would they accept her? Would the forest accept her? She had heard so many stories of how all those who had gotten lost became monsters. But if everyone became a monster and was lost in the woods, how would anyone tell the tale? She decided she just needed faith in the goddesses and courage to do what they wanted, for if she had read the signs correctly, this is what they wanted. How else would you interpret only seeing a young Kokiri girl every time you look at your reflection? This had to be it.

Filari took her first step into the Lost Woods; following the dirt path she had found leading out of it. Though she looked uncannily similar to a Gerudo girl named Qalura, she had distinguishing Kokiri traits. Short, blonde hair pulled into a ponytail on the side of her head; bright blue eyes, as opposed to the yellow of a Gerudo's; pale skin; and an innocent, childish face with a smile engraved upon it. She was even several inches shorter than Qalura.

Unfortunately, she lacked the one thing every child of the forest has: a guardian fairy. Her only idea was a long shot, but it was worth a try. She made the signal for light and created a manifestation orb, a small one that she affixed above her right shoulder. As long as no one paid too much attention, she could stay right in the forest, out of the minds of all of Hyrule.

She knew, however, that this was a very temporary settlement. Soon she would be leaving the forest, perhaps never to return. Yet, while she was here, she could learn of the life of that poor boy that had died for her mistake…

As I walked quietly through the dark forest, holding my harp under my arm, I remembered the last and only time that I had been here before. Now I was back, but it wasn't for hiding. Here I would begin to strike back at Ganondorf, with Link, the Hero of Time. The more I spoke his name and title—or even thought them together—I got goose bumps.

Even as a girl, I had begun to place all the hopes of Hyrule on him, and through that I had gained a great deal of admiration of him. Though I wouldn't admit to it at the time, I now realized I even had a crush on the little boy who so irritated me the first time I met him.

But all that had fallen apart when the goddesses had said he died. How could they have? No, they hadn't said it. I suddenly recalled as if it were mere minutes ago…

"The young boy with the fairy will never be seen again in your lifetime…"

How sly of the goddesses. The next time I spoke with them, I would have to ask them why they said that. I understood now what that meant. He was no longer a young boy with a fairy. He was a grown man. But why had they said it in the first place?

Then it hit me. If I had known that he was the Hero of Time—that he was sleeping in the Sacred Realm until the time the goddesses chose to wake him up—I would have been a very different person. Even knowing that the goddesses had a planned savior who they chose to let sleep during this oppression, I would have lost faith while watching the world be tortured for its sins.

But now… Now he was alive, and the Hero of Time… And very attractive… What was I thinking? I had a mission. I had to do the will of the goddesses. Thinking about such things could hold me back. It could keep me from thinking straight. I had to keep my mind on what lay ahead. Besides, I'd been down that road before. It only led to heartache.

Even the loss of Kauyo was eating at me now, as things were slowing down enough for me to let it linger in my mind. I had cried for hours straight when I had seen what happened to him. How could he have been so stupid? I had to brush all these thoughts out of my mind. I had much to do to prepare the forest for Link's coming.

The smell of dark magic was heavy in the air. I hoped I wasn't too late to help the Kokiri, but oddly, the smell came from the north, away from the forest. A faint galloping sound reached my ear, as of an army of very large horses, coming toward me from the north. It was getting closer and closer… I leapt into a tree and did the signals for light and shadow. I willed the energy, choked heavily with my own ki, to blend me with the colors of the trees.

Finally, the army came into view, over a hill under the trees to the north. It was comprised almost completely of monsters. The monsters stood about two meters or so high, and they bore snouts, tusks, and hoofed feet. What were these monsters? They looked like giant boar-men. They didn't look too intelligent, either.

They all wore small amounts of metal armor, and most carried spears. Very large spears. In the middle of the army stood one among them who was almost three meters tall. He carried a club about half his own size over one shoulder, and he walked with the presence of some sort of primitive commander. As the army passed, one final figure appeared on the hill: Ganondorf, riding his black stallion. He carried a long, black staff with a strange, ornate head.

I had to hurry to the village. They were in trouble. These children were not strong enough to battle Ganondorf or his army. As I leapt through trees, I realized a couple of things. One, that Ganondorf would not come all the way down here to wipe out a bunch of children, and secondly, he wouldn't lead an army to accomplish this same purpose. He was heading for the temple. I had to get the Sage there, and soon.

I rushed from tree to tree, avoiding the army of boar-men at all costs. I could not go straight to the village, because that would cause me to cross over the army. However, pretty soon, avoiding the monsters got me lost. I had not been lost before in these woods. I had always followed the paths to my destination. Now, I was in the trees, searching around with no purpose. It didn't help that the sun had gone down several hours ago. Was it true what they said about those who got lost in the forest?

I stopped to try and get my bearings. It was no use. All of the trees looked the same to me. No way to tell which way to go. I wasn't even sure which direction was north anymore.

All the while, Ganondorf was leading his army straight to the temple's magic, a power I could easily sense anywhere in this forest. Its pulsating aura could direct anyone who could sense it straight to the entrance. With this, I was able to determine direction again.

From the direction of the great magical aura, a mix of the good aura of the Triforce and the evil aura of Ganondorf's power, I heard something faint, just over the low rumble of the army. It sounded like an upbeat ocarina song.

I remembered a girl of the forest. Her name was Saria. She spent a good deal of time in the woods, always playing her ocarina. She was a good friend of Link's. I spent much time asking her what he was like, under the guise of Filari the Kokiri. She was right in the path of Ganondorf's army, now. I had to help her first.

I rushed toward the sound and the aura that were so close together, hoping I could beat the galloping army to the temple, and to Saria. I leapt out of the final tree, leading to the clearing known as the Sacred Forest Meadow, and abandoned my spell of camouflage.

There, in the middle of the meadow, stood Saria, playing her ocarina. It was the same upbeat tune she had always played. She was facing a stone structure in the back of the meadow with a decimated staircase that led up to a doorway in the stone wall. Without the stairs, the door was out of reach. This stone structure was the source of the pulsating aura of the forest. This was the Forest Temple.

"Saria!" I shouted. I knew she wouldn't know me. I knew my appearance would frighten her. But there was no time to make friends with her once more. The army would be here in a matter of moments.

She screamed. Of course. This was going to be difficult. I rushed in and grabbed her around the torso. She dropped her ocarina. Then she started kicking and screaming as I lifted her onto the platform of the threshold to the temple, using a simple leaping spell.

I set her down, and she brushed herself off.

"That's more like it," she said. "That's all I was wanting anyway. Can you retrieve my ocarina, please?"

She was always so polite, so formal. The Kokiri had once told me that she was only ever casual around the boy, Link.

"There's no time, Saria. We have to get back to the village. There's an army of monsters…"

"I know," she said. "That's why I was playing my ocarina."

I gave her a puzzled look with my one visible eye. She sighed and began to explain exasperatedly.

"When I play my ocarina long enough, the spirits of the forest talk to me, help me. They even lift me up into this place." She indicated the temple. "Within this place, they tell me all kinds of things. I've spent so long in here. But I have to play my ocarina a long time for it to work."

I had read of something similar once, a long time ago. Limited hypnosis, it was called. Doing a creative activity long enough that one's subconscious takes over, such as painting or playing an instrument. If her subconscious could speak with spirits, she had to be an unawakened Sage! She fit the part too. The goddesses said it was a girl who had been greatly influenced by Link. It seemed so obvious now; I was surprised it didn't occur to me before.

"Saria," I said to her then, taking her small hand in both of mine. "Why did you come here?"

"An evil wind was blowing from this place. I had to come and speak with the spirits, to try and calm it. It is causing all the evil in the forest, I know!"

"Go, then. You know your way around?"

"Yes. I once had a map, but I didn't need it anymore, so I gave it to someone else. I can find anything in this place."

"Good," I said. I made the symbol of wind and performed a spell of retrieval on her ocarina. It came right to my hand, and I placed it in hers. "Find the source, and wait. Someone is coming to help you, and you will understand everything then."

She hurried into the temple then, and I wished her the best. I prayed that she could do what was necessary before Ganondorf got there, and hoped I had done all things right.

"Thou hast done all that thy goddesses have asked of thee," someone said from behind me. His voice was soothing, and somewhat elderly. It reminded me of my father's when he comforted me so long ago. I turned around to see a man wearing a brown fur robe, and holding a fiddle under his arm. And though I saw all this, I could see everything behind him as well.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"A chosen one, just as thyself, young princess," he said. "I have little need of a name now, though I have more than one. As I appear to thee now, in my original form, thou mayest call me Mudora. Mudora of Forest."

His eyes were large and very dark, shaded under his bushy eyebrows. He had a frothy mustache and his hair was cut in long patches that hung off the back of his head and sat idly on his shoulders. All of his hair was brown, with a touch of green. He had a large, round nose, and his skin was very light.

"You are the Sage of this temple?" I said.

"That was, at one time, my duty. But now, that task has been passed to one of more vigor. I have now passed out of this world twice. My vigor is not what it once was." He smiled. This man was apparently very pleasant, regardless of what had occurred to him. And I smiled too. This was the man who wrote the book containing Hyrule's history, the book I had read and reread over and over for seven years.

"Why are you here, Mudora of Forest, and why do you know me?"

"Why are any of us here, daughter of Aranon? And how do any of us chance upon any knowledge, but that the goddesses direct us and lead us into knowledge?"

"You are very wise, Sage Mudora."

"In any event, I am here on behalf of the goddesses, raised from my second grave, to tell you that portion of destiny in which I am so involved--that part involving this forest. This forest has been my home from the beginning of my days."

"But you are no Kokiri," I said. "How could it be your home?"

"I am of the original forest folk. We were not unlike the Hylians, or the Gerudos, displaying all the traits shared among them that are not shared by the other Hyrulean races. We had no name amongst our people, but had personal names. I was considered a shaman, for by use of this fiddle I couldst commune with the dead. Little did I know it was the abilities given me by the goddesses that allowed such a feat.

"Then, through a series of events I chanced upon contact with similar shamans, one of each tribe of Hyrule, and two more amongst the Hylians. We were the Sages, entrusted to the protection of the Triforce, in the Sacred Realm. Yet, it was not to be permanent.

"The sister Gerudos, Kotake and Koume Rova, rose against us and slew all but one among us—Rauru of Light. He cursed them, and prevented them from gaining the Triforce, for thus was their plan from the beginning. Shortly thereafter, the twin sisters used their evil magic to lay waste to the habitation of my people, and they were thus destroyed.

"Meanwhile, we Sages had all perished, leaving only children. All of us, that is, save myself. These children carried the bloodline of the Sages, and their descendants wouldst one day rise up as the new Sages, as is happening even as we speak."

"But Saria has no ancestor. She is one of the Kokiri," I said.

"That is why I was given second life," he replied. "Myself and some others of the Sages were brought back to watch over the lands of Hyrule in different forms, with different names. I was granted offspring, a new race to take the place of my people. As I stayed within the Lost Woods, finishing my record of history, many great events occurred outside. The goddesses had entrusted unto me a safe haven for children, but for what purpose was yet to be revealed."

"You…" I said. "You were the Great Deku Tree!"

"Precisely." He nodded and smiled. "Many centuries passed from the time I first died to the time I passed on again. But about a decade before my second passing from this world, the hope of the world came unto my dwelling place. A woman came seeking shelter from the war that so surrounded this forest. I recognized on her face the countenance of an old friend, a Knight of old. But also was I aware that all the descendants of the Knights had been destroyed. The woman brought unto me a child, a Hylian boy that also bore a significant resemblance to Auron, Knight of Rauru.

"The woman died shortly thereafter, but I raised the boy with the rest of my children. The Kokiri had only just sprouted, and would remember not this event, so he grew with them. But I knew that my seedlings were but children, and always would be, yet this boy would grow up, the last descendant of the Knights. His destiny was to be a great one."

"Link," I said. Mudora once again nodded.

"But this boy wouldst soon be watched over as he grew thus by another Sage, the one to whom his family was sworn, Rauru of Light. Rauru watched this boy grow when I could not, as he slept in the Sacred Realm."

"Slept? He slept the entire time?" I could not remember the goddesses telling me that part.

"Yes. This boy's life is not his own. He was raised believing he was one of the eternal children, and missed his entire growth unto manhood. It is greatly regrettable, but it had to be done. This boy, as the descendant of the Knights, was the only one capable of the task at hand. The world would soon be punished for the war that killed all others who could save it, and he wouldst come to show the world hope. This is his destiny, Head Sage.

"Remember these words. The flow of time is most assuredly always cruel. Its speed seems different to each person, but none exist that can change it. Though thou hast endured the terrible darkness that overtook this world, all this passed unto him as a dream in the night, and he missed seven whole years of his life. But a thing that shall never change with time is the memory of younger days. These memories will soon bring great anguish to the Knight's son, Link. He is coming here, and I say again that he is already arrived within the bounds of the forest! Thou must teach unto him this song, this Minuet of the Forest. For through it, the awakening call shall bring forth my child unto her rightful place in the Chamber of Sages."

As the moon began to set behind the trees of the forest, Mudora pulled forth his fiddle and began to play a beautiful song. I took my harp and learned the song from him. There was something greatly magical ringing out from every note. Finally, he stopped playing and tucked away his fiddle again.

"Three tasks I now ask of thee, Princess of Destiny, one on behalf of each facet of my life. As a Sage, I ask that thou teachest this song unto the Hero of Time. With it, he shall awaken my daughter unto the Chamber of Sages. Second, as guardian of the forest, I ask that thou takest this seed." Here he brought a cucco-egg sized seed from his robe and placed it in my hand. Though he was translucent, it was opaque, and though I could not feel his touch, this object was solid and I closed my fingers around it.

"Take thou this seed and plant it at the root of my wood-rotted corpse. For there I shall inherit a third life to explain all things unto the Hero, and to prepare for the next task of the world. Finally I ask that thou take the book I have written, and in the empty pages continue the history of the world in my stead. This is now thy task. The armies of Ganondorf have been caused to march through the woods without arriving at their destination. Now they come unto thee. Goodbye."

He took a step backward and faded until he disappeared completely. The steps of the army were extremely close now. I would have to hide until Link appeared. Then I would complete my tasks.


	22. Life Anew

A/n: That was what I had planned from the beginning. Don't hate it. Mudora is GDT. That's what I wanted. Course, if you don't like it, you can always review, or review if you liked it too! I want to know your opinion! Anyway, read on!

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 22:** Life Anew

He was dead. There were few leaves left on the rotted body of the Great Deku Tree, and all there were had turned gray. His mouth was lowered in an expression of release, as one giving up their soul after great torment. The ground was littered with leaves.

"Filari," one of the boys of the forest said, taking her by the arm. "We don't come here. It's sad, and scary."

These children were frightened, even now, three years after his death. They didn't know what to do. There was no one to protect them; no one to love and comfort them, no one to tell them that everything was all right. She remembered when she was actually about their age, and she was going through a similar difficulty. There was none who believed in her, save one. That one had taught her to fend for herself.

"Filari, let's go," Jeran said again. "This is scary."

"Okay," she replied. "Let's go back to Know-It-All hill." They turned and left the Great Deku Tree's grave in peace. She decided then that they would need some comfort, and great comfort came in believing in your own ability. All those who would learn, would learn the ways of the Sheikah…

As I sat in the trees, awaiting Link's arrival, I remembered my purpose last time I was here. Those children had been so frightened… and they still were. This forest was overcome with a great evil, but soon Link would be along to eradicate it.

I was perched, under the guise of the camouflage spell, above the Sacred Forest Meadow, with my harp tucked neatly under one arm, watching the monsters argue back and forth. They were the stupidest creatures I'd ever laid eyes on, yet I could understand why Ganondorf would summon them up. They were incredibly strong, and couldn't have taken too much energy to conjure. He could easily create an unstoppable army of these monsters.

I had watched Ganondorf enter the temple myself. His horse made an unnatural jump straight up into the entrance of the temple, and I sensed the presence of three or four dark creatures going behind, though I saw none. This was some sort of trap. Why would Ganondorf leave his armies outside and go in with only a handful of warriors?

Then it hit me. He hadn't summoned an army of these boar-monsters large enough to expend his energy. He was going to summon more inside, and await the Hero's coming. But how did he know about Link, and that he was coming here? That I didn't know. And something kept pulling at me, in reference to Ganondorf's aura. It didn't seem as strong as usual, and at the same time, it reeked of darkness.

Suddenly, a figure stepped into the clearing from the south end. Link. He drew his sword and waited for the monsters to come. I could hear his fairy telling him something.

"Moblins," she said. "Big, strong, stupid. You know the type."

"Slow?" he asked.

"In many ways."

"Good." He wiped some dark blood off the tip of the Master Sword in the tall grass of the field. The creatures marched toward him, and he took a fighting stance. Suddenly, they were upon him.

In the mob of creatures, I couldn't see him, but saw a lot of dark-colored blood spewing from the ranks of these hideous monsters.

I considered joining the fray, but decided against it. He already didn't trust me a whole lot. In the heat of battle, we may accidentally clash with each other, or worse yet, he could assume that I was with them the whole time. I didn't want that.

From what I could tell, he was doing just fine on his own, though. What glimpses of his fighting style I caught were incredible. His mastery over his weapon earned his right to the title of "Hero" right off. What did I have to worry about?

Finally, I watched the last of these "Moblins"—as his fairy had called them—fall. He stood unscathed, though obviously out of breath.

A tremor ran through the ground, and it was all I could do to hold onto the branch I was hunched over. It happened again, and again, until another figure emerged from the forest. The big Moblin, the one with the club.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Link said.

The Moblin looked around at his fallen comrades and gave a loud, deep bellow of anger and sorrow. It charged at Link and swung its mighty cudgel. Link was paralyzed, and raised his shield in defense. The club mashed his shield arm into his chest and flung him backward like a child's doll. The Master Sword fell at the Moblin's feet.

Link got to his feet and quickly tested his right arm, his shield arm. He apparently decided it was too injured, and dropped the shield. He raised his other arm, only to find his sword not there.

"Navi, give me some info!" he shouted as a last resort.

"I don't know!" she said exasperatedly. "He's a big, big Moblin with a whole tree in his hands!" She started fluttering around him frantically, hoping to find a weakness.

Link was weaponless. I prepared to drop in and finish the battle to the best of my ability, but Link had an idea. He pulled out an item that was attached to his belt. He held it in his left arm and aimed the tip carefully. Suddenly, a chain shot out from the tip of the device and attached to the wooden cudgel of the Moblin by way of some sharp hook on the end.

I remembered the words in Dampe's diary. He said he had found a treasure that stretches and shrinks. This was it. Link had succeeded in retrieving the object. I was overjoyed.

The creature raised its club from the ground in curiosity. There was now a chain attached to his weapon, leading all the way back to his adversary. When he raised the weapon, it pulled Link just a little closer.

The monster slammed the club back down as Link was pulled in close at rapid speed by the artifact. Link picked up his legendary blade with his free hand as the creature lifted the club again, raising Link into the air. He raised Link to eye level, and after a moment's hesitation, Link jabbed the sword right into the creature's throat. Blood sprayed all over Link's body as the creature began to fall backward. Link withdrew the weapon and the hook weapon and landed on his feet as the giant crashed upon the ground.

He put the hook and chain back on his belt and, after wiping the blade clean in the grass, returned the Master Sword to its sheath on his back. He walked over to his shield and affixed it to his back as well. All the while, Navi, his fairy, was singing his praises. I wanted to as well. His fighting style was unique, but amazing. No other man could have taken down that giant Moblin the way he had, after such a strenuous battle.

He felt his shield arm, testing it out. It appeared to be tender in some places, but he decided it must be fine. Silence filled the meadow. That was my cue.

I dispelled the camouflage and descended silently into the meadow. Link turned to face me, and an expression of surprise washed over his face. I called to mind the words of Mudora the Sage, and spoke to him in a cryptic manner.

"The flow of time is always so cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it." This was, of course, to provoke him. The statement really hinted toward what I knew about him, and he appeared a little overwhelmed.

"How do you know…?" he started. I heard him, but acted as though I hadn't. I wanted to get my message across. So I continued.

"A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days. You have been remembering your childhood being here, haven't you?" I was really pushing it, I knew, but this air of mystique was really helping my impression on him. Perhaps this cryptic way of pretending to know him so well could gain his confidence in me. That's what I tried to convince myself of, but truly, I thought his bewildered expressions were kind of funny.

"How do you know so much about me?" Link asked, somewhat angry. "I don't know anything about you!" He was growing hostile. Time to lay off a bit and get to the point.

"Your childhood friend has entered the temple, but she must awaken as a Sage," I said. "Only your awakening call can do this. In order to awaken the Sage of the Forest, play this minuet."

I pulled my harp out and began to play the Minuet of the Forest. Link listened as I played through the soothing melody that drew up thoughts of a tranquil forest meadow in my head as I played. Finally, I let a note ring and motioned with my hand for Link to join in. From within his tunic he drew forth the Ocarina of Time, hanging elegantly from a chain around his neck. So he had it.

It had been so long since I had seen the legendary instrument that had once been mine to play. He began to play, and though his large, leather gloves were fingerless, I wondered how he was able to play while wearing them. Still, the wondrous sound of the small, but powerful ocarina chimed brilliantly throughout the meadow.

Link didn't miss a note. I remembered Impa once telling me that she was teaching him to play the ocarina long ago, but she could not have even had an hour at that time, if I remembered correctly. Someone else had to have taught him to play, and play extremely well. Regardless, he had an unusually powerful ability to mimic notes. This ability would be very useful to him, I knew, especially with an instrument that makes songs into spells.

We only played through the minuet a couple of times, but the relaxing sensation of harmonizing in this quiet, albeit grave-like, meadow seemed to carry on our session for endless years of peace and joy. Finally, I stopped playing, and as if he knew I would, he stopped on the exact same note.

He knew the song; he knew what to do; he had the relic that would grant him access to the temple. My work here was done.

"Link," I said. "I'll see you again." I took a step backward and dropped a flash pellet. In the blinding flash that lasted but a split second, I signaled, channeled, and released the spells of jumping and camouflage, and returned to my perch in the trees. Once Link could see again, he looked around in amazement, as his fairy buzzed around excitedly.

"He was definitely trained by Impa," Link said.

"Oh yeah, Impa did that too!" Navi answered.

They turned toward the temple entrance high above, forgetting my entry and escape, and all that lay between. Link gazed at the platform high above him, at the feet of the crumbled staircase, trying to figure out what to do. It took but a second for him to reach to his belt and pull forth Dampe's treasure. He fired the hook into the air, and it wrapped around a thick branch hanging over the landing. The chain pulled him straight up through the air, to the threshold of the temple.

The hook freed itself of the branch and he landed. The whole thing looked clumsy, as though he hadn't actually tried it before, but at the same time, strangely graceful. The chain had to be very stiff for it to carry a full-grown Hylian straight up like that. Link was obviously thinking about something as he stared into the dark entryway. Finally, he drew his sword and shield, and stepped into the darkness within.

I prayed to the goddesses to protect him throughout his journey into the temple. I considered joining him. After all, Ganondorf had gone inside. But something about Ganondorf was different. Perhaps this difference would be to Link's advantage. A small, soothing voice in my head told me that this was not to be Link's true confrontation with the King of Evil, and I accepted that.

I had more to do. I rushed back through the Lost Woods toward Kokiri Village. I had one more task to complete here. I dropped from the trees as I hurried and brushed off the camouflage spell. Instead, I made the signals of fire and wind, and channeled them into my legs to conjure speed.

A Kokiri boy stood straight in my path as I ran, and raised his dagger high as I approached. I stopped in front of him.

"You," he said. It was Mido, the boss of the Kokiri. "You're on his side, right?"

"Who?" I replied.

"Link's." He said it quite matter-of-factly. I wasn't sure Link would reveal himself to his friends, but apparently he had.

"Yes."

"Did he get that man? The one on the horse?"

"He will. It is something he must do on his own."

"Will he? Good." The boy seemed quite reassured by my words. He lowered his sword, signaling me to go on my way. My legs were starting to ache from not using the spell they were bound to. I rushed onward, down into the village. There, I stopped for nothing—none of the children, none of the plant-like monsters that had overrun their village. I hurried straight to the Great Deku Tree's Meadow, on the east end of the village.

There, I beheld the rotted corpse of Mudora's second life. I dropped down into the meadow from the hill above, into the lake of dead and dried leaves that had fallen from his immense boughs. I cleared a space at the roots of the enormous tree and scooped out the ground with a dagger. I gently placed the large seed Mudora had given to me in the hole, and covered it again. The ground shifted slightly under me feet.

In mere moments, the grass on the ground of the patch of dirt I had turned grew upright again. A small sapling sprouted from the ground, and all the leaves leading from the hill to the sapling spread out and away from each other to make a path. I could sense that something great had just taken place, and respectfully left the sapling in peace.

I had completed all that the goddesses wanted from me in this forest. I did not know what they wanted next, or where they would have me go. But I was quite exhausted. All these spells I was using were wearing me out, and the supply of the magic potion that I wore upon my belt was depleted. I had some still in a cave I made use of long ago on Hyrule Field. I would go there, stock up, and await a sign from the goddesses.


	23. A Dying Soul on the Field

**A/N:** Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I couldn't write for a while. A tsp of writer's block and 2 ½ cups of lack of motivation is the recipe for my creative pause. Toward the end there was about 3 tbsps of "How do I write this right?"Sorry about that, but here I am again with a new chap. Hope ya like it!

A Princess' Destiny 

**Chapter 23:** A Dying Soul on the Field

What did the goddesses want of her? She knew not what was to blame for her escape from the Gerudos other than the hands of the goddesses, but where was she to go next? That was the question at hand.

Now she had been journeying across the field for days, dressed in Gerudo garb, but lacking any disguise. Her energy was expended and any attempt at shadow arts would probably cause her to faint. But perhaps that was what was best. No. The Gerudos were hot in her heels. If she were to stop now, she would be caught, imprisoned, possibly worse.

There was no use for the guise of Qalura the Gerudo girl anymore. As long as the Gerudos continued to pursue a young girl in purple, they didn't care about her race. What had she done to turn the entire army on her? Did they know she was not Gerudo? How had they found out?

It was so cold. Mid-winter was no season for an exposed midriff on an open plain. The winds cut at her stomach. This was no life for a fourteen-year-old princess. It was so much warmer back in the desert, even in the imprisoning pins of Gerudo Fortress. And she would probably even get a cloak, or blanket… or a blade in the throat. No, she could not turn back. Allowing her self to be captured was the cowardly way out.

But her bare feet stung through their numbness every step through the cold, dewy grass, and her teeth chattered at every freezing gasp for air. She held her arms close about her chest, rubbing her bare shoulders. She couldn't feel much in her arms, and even less in her feet. Any moment they could give under her, and the pursuing Gerudo hunters would catch her…

She woke up on the floor of a small cave, wrapped tight in a wool blanket. Her mouth was quite dry, and her stomach empty, but her body was warm, and she felt safety and comfort surround her. She started struggling to free herself of the warm blanket, so tightly wound about her, so that she might stand.

"Awake, huh?" a calm, emotionless voice echoed in the small earthen room. Zelda couldn't see the body that owned this voice. It sounded like a boy or young man.

"Where are you?" she replied.

A figure dropped down from a ledge just above her. The figure wasn't much larger than she was. In the dim, dawning light seeping in the small entrance at the top of a slope, she could see the figure had very pale, almost white skin. Something was draping off each forearm and calf. As he turned to face her, she saw a very long, thin nose, and large, dark eyes. It was a Zora boy, not much older than she was.

"So what's your story?" the boy said with very little enthusiasm. "Escaped prisoner? Slave?"

"Something like that."

"So how'd you escape?"

"It's complicated."

"I've never seen a Zora in Gerudo clothing before," he said, somewhat carelessly. "It's not too suiting."

"Zora?" she said aloud. She looked herself over. She _was_ a Zora. But how? Had she changed when she fainted? Or was it the work of the goddesses.

"Yeah, you're a Zora," the boy said impatiently.

"No, I just… it's been so long since I've seen another Zora," Zelda covered.

"You know, you're gonna have to tell me where you got this," the Zora boy said, holding up a boomerang. Her boomerang, or rather, Qalura's. She had received it from a friend who had supposedly spoiled it from a prisoner a while back.

"I…" she started.

"You're not keeping it, either. It's mine. My father's. He died."

"How did the Gerudos get it?" Zelda asked.

"I don't know. I gave it to a boy a long time ago. I've never seen him since, but I heard the Gerudos killed him."

"I stole it. I used it to aid my escape."

"Then I guess in a way, I saved your life," he said, with a little more emotion now.

"More than you know," she replied.

"Which is funny, because you saved mine. If I hadn't found you on the field…"

"What?" she pressed.

"I was going to go kill Ganondorf, for killing my friend. Or at least attempt to. What can a fourteen-year-old kid do to a man like that, huh?"

"Well, thank you. Where are we?"

"Nowhere anyone can ever find. It was a shelter used by Zora guerillas in the Hundred Years War. You'll never find you way to the Domain without some help. Let's go. By the way, what's your name?"

She couldn't think. What was her name? Well, of course she was Zelda, but as a Sheikah she had been Sheik, and as a Gerudo, Qalura. What of a Zora? She didn't know Zora names, except one. There had been a Zora slave in Gerudo Fortress. She died quickly of dehydration.

"Kathra," she said, stealing the name of the dead Zora. "Yours?"

"Kauyo," he replied.

As I stood in the entrance of the cave, I couldn't help but shed another tear for Kauyo. This was as much his place as it was now mine. From that moment in which we had met, his life was so incredibly entwined with mine… but now he was gone. I had to press on. I would do my task, and mourn those dead when given time.

I stepped in and stared at the shelves I had erected here so long ago. On them were several books and scrolls, among them the large, heavy Book of Mudora. I almost drew it, but pulled back my hand. I could not. Not yet. I had more to do. Aside the books were several, small, orb-like bottles. All were filled with red or green liquid. I reached for a green one, but my hand trembled and the bottle fell to the ground and crashed open, spilling green liquid across the floor.

I jumped back suddenly. Why was I so shaky?

The liquid didn't move at random, but as though it had distinct purpose. It became a very well contained puddle, shaped very much like a female head. Eyes and a mouth appeared as gaping holes in the puddle, unnaturally. The mouth began to move, as a voice began to echo through the cave.

"Princess of Destiny."

"My goddesses."

"You are at a loss as to where to go next, are you not?"

"You speak the truth."

"The reason is very simple. Your next destination is the last you would suspect."

"I do not follow."

"Long ago, you received an item from us that would aid you very much. You used it once, and then gave it up to your enemy. At our command, you retrieved this artifact of the gods once again, and used it for one purpose once more. Now, you will need to retrieve it again. This item has great purpose in the future of Hyrule."

"You speak of the Eye of Truth."

"It is so. Ahead, your journey shall once more cross with our other chosen child. Then, you shall give this item unto him. For he will need it to see things unseen, to fight enemies unknown."

"But that is impossible!" I replied. "The Eye of Truth is in the possession of Ganondorf!"

"Yes, thus have we said that you wouldn't suspect, for surely you did not suspect that your next destination was to Ganondorf."

"No, I did not. But how do you steal from the man who teaches his nation to be the best thieves and robbers?"

"You gain his confidence, princess. Thus, as we reveal this to you, you fathom it less. We do not send you to confront Ganondorf at his face, nor do we ask that you sneak upon his back. It is to his side that we send you, that you may gain it from him in the midst of his trust."

"This is suicide!"

"Do you not trust your goddesses? We are here to protect you princess. We would not send you to his presence unaided. Not as his adversary do you approach him, but as one loyal to the king of Hyrule. Now, you will go to him, and worry not for the Hero. He shall not be unguided, and he must be delayed for your purpose."

The puddle seeped outward and inward upon itself then, as the echo of the goddesses faded. I attached several green potions to my belt, and a few red potions. This was suicide. I wouldn't even get close to Ganondorf's Castle, much less to his throne room. But I would go, for my goddesses commanded me.

I drank one magic potion and felt almost immediately replenished. Then I turned to leave behind this sanctuary from the world that surrounded me, and headed north, toward Ganondorf's Castle.

I did not invoke the spell of greater speed this time. I didn't want to waste any ki along the way, in case I needed it to enter the castle. As I walked along through the night, I thought of many things. The task at hand was ever on my mind, but I also thought of Kauyo, and times past. As I brushed those thoughts from my mind, others swept in, of Link, and the Sages, the goddesses, and Hyrule. Not Hyrule as it appeared now, in its crippled, dark state, but the glorified kingdom it once was, and that it would soon be again, when this tribulation was all over.

The sun began to rise from the East Mountains. Ahead, I saw a figure collapse on the ground. A great wind arose from beyond the collapsed figure, and carried an article from it to me. A green, pointed hat. Link!

I rushed over to him and knelt down. He was laying flat on his face. I rolled him over to get a look at him. He seemed to be in poor condition. There were burns all over his body and his whole form seemed quite dried out. I pulled up one eyelid to see an eye overtaken with red. His pulse was dropping, fading.

I took a red potion and poured it between his lips. It slid down his throat and he sighed slightly. His chest collapsed. He wasn't coming. That potion can cure almost any ailment, but it wasn't working now. Where was his fairy? She should be here. She should be helping!

In that mortal sigh, he hand planned to give up his spirit to death. It couldn't happen. He was the hope of the world, the Hero of Time… my friend, Link. I spent seven years torturing myself over his death, and I wasn't about to watch him die now.

I recalled the spells I would practice in secret while training under the Gerudos. None would work. There was only one spell that would work. A Gerudo spell. The Gerudos knew only two types of shadow art. They knew much about the shadow element, but they knew very little of the other elements utilized by Sheikah. Instead, they discovered a completely different ability using the same practices. It was called the Spirit Arts. They make use of strictly ki in order to accomplish magic feats. That's not to say they only used their own ki. They would borrow from the spirit energy of others around them. The Sheikah despised this art, as it was a very selfish way to use energy.

Now I would have to utilize this technique to save Link. I pressed both hands to his chest and made separate symbols with each set of fingers. I felt energy channel through me. It wasn't like any elemental energy. It was comparable to my own ki, but still foreign. My eyes closed and I saw a completely different world around me. None of it was corporal. It was all made up of spirit, energy, magic.

I could feel Link's energy flowing outward and up, toward the heavens. I followed the sense of spirit upward. There was a consciousness as I rose, a recognition of departure. My own spirit was leaving its shell to chase Link. I rose over the two figures huddled on the ground below. Quickly, I was rising up as Link's spirit made its own journey. Above, there was a bright light, brighter than the sun. If Link reached it, he would never return.

I had to prevent that. I rushed forward, but his spirit seemed faster still. I wondered how far my consciousness could go before I would be unable to return. I hurried after him. He was so close to the light. I could no longer see (for that is the only reference that seems to compare to the spiritual sense of recognition through some form of sight) him before the bright light. I just pressed upward.

I could never reach him in time. He was too close. There was only one thing I could think to do. But could it work while I floated far above my mortal shell? I no longer had corporal hands to symbolize the spirit arts, so instead I focused on the idea associated with those symbols. I reached out with my will toward Link's spirit. As my consciousness extended to reach him, I felt an intermingling similar to the channeling of spirit energy but much more potent. But I had now touched his spirit. Now to drag him back down to our bodies, waiting far below.

As our spirits mingled, an image appeared in my mind. As we rushed down to rejoin our bodies, it appeared as though I led him toward Hyrule Castle Town, fully glorified as it was seven years ago. We were returning to life, to destiny.

Finally, we reached the earth and our huddled forms. His spirit returned to his respective coil, and I to mine. I shook the strange feeling off of me as I returned to feeling, to corporality. Link stared directly at me, his eyes wide and fearful. His eyes seemed to pierce straight through me.

I suddenly realized that without spirit energy I could not continue my guise of Sheik. My body had returned to the form of Zelda. Could Link see? Was he truly alive and awake? Did he now know? His eyes closed and he collapsed in another sigh, this one now much more forgiving and full of life.

I invoked the disguise spell, and the art of costume. I lifted Link's body, weighed down with his equipment, and carried him toward the ruins of the castle town. He could not join me. He could not go so close to Ganondorf in his current condition. He needed to be somewhere safe.

I spied Lon Lon Ranch afar off, or rather Ingo Ranch as it was now called. That is where he would now go.

When I had taken his resting body to the ranch, I was met by Malon, Ingo's stable hand. She took him from me and dragged him into the stables to hide him from the tyrannical Ingo. There had to be something Link could do here for Malon. I had felt the whole time carrying Link to the ranch that I was not wholly guiding myself.

I now turned my attention to the ruined castle town. It was time to go to the castle town, and beyond to Ganondorf's Castle, floating above the lake of fire. I had to enter his castle and become his loyal subject to obtain the Eye of Truth once more. The thought made me feel sick, but I would now go.

I took one step away from the ranch, away from Link, and one step toward the castle, and Ganondorf.


End file.
